Stewardship and the Natural Resources Framework

Abstract

New Zealand’s natural resources are under increasing pressure from competing uses and are, in some areas, approaching limits. Management of our natural resources has been and will continue to be a complex and contentious intergenerational issue. This complexity arises because of the many interrelationships and interdependencies between environmental and social systems involved in natural resource management, as well as the legacy of past decisions. The contentiousness arises, in part, because natural resources are typically finite and shared, where people hold different values regarding their appropriate use.

A systems perspective on the natural resources framework: comment on Hearnshaw et al

“…The framework consists of six steps: four analytical steps in between two process steps. The six steps are: Identify; Reveal; Establish; Assess; Integrate; Advise (see detailed description in Hearnshaw et al, 2014).…”

“…Tables 1 and 2 clearly identify the Natural Resources Framework as a systemic approach in contrast to traditional policy analysis, demonstrating the separate and distinct contribution of the framework. The original authors indirectly acknowledge the systemic nature of the Natural Resources Framework by using the words 'system' , 'systems' and 'systemic' no fewer than 41 times in its description (Hearnshaw et al, 2014). One of the projects described made use of a tool from system dynamics (the causal loop diagram) to complete the Reveal phase, demonstrating the parallel process steps (and substitutability) of the different approaches (Cavana et al, 2014).…”

“…Lessons from systems sciences suggest that it is not sufficient to define scope in terms of the system being investigated (Sterman, 2000) Natural Resources Framework (Hearnshaw et al, 2014) Identify relevant systemic structures and variables (stocks and flows)…”

“…The framework is a 'systems' approach to understanding the interaction between the many actors in the natural resource management system, and as such could benefit from insights and lessons from the systems sciences. This article is a rejoinder to Hearnshaw et al (2014), and presents three suggestions for how the framework could be improved based on literature from the fields of system dynamics and systems thinking.Rodney Scott is a PhD student at the University of Queensland. He has recently submitted his thesis, 'Group model building and mental model change', which includes discussion on the use of participatory system dynamics methods in state sector decision-making.…”

“…The framework is a 'systems' approach to understanding the interaction between the many actors in the natural resource management system, and as such could benefit from insights and lessons from the systems sciences. This article is a rejoinder to Hearnshaw et al (2014), and presents three suggestions for how the framework could be improved based on literature from the fields of system dynamics and systems thinking.…”