Participatory modeling and analysis for sustainable forest management: Overview of soft system dynamics models and applications

Abstract

Participatory approaches to natural resource management and development are widely accepted as effective instruments for achieving sustainable resource management particularly in the developing nations. This paper presents an overview of soft system dynamics methods under a participatory modeling framework that is consistent with participatory approaches to assessing sustainable forest management. Three general types of soft system dynamics models are described: cognitive mapping, qualitative system dynamics, and fuzzy cognitive mapping. The three models entail different information requirements, knowledge base, and varying degrees of complexity. The models can be developed and used as stand-alone resource management tools. Or, depending on the level of complexity and the availability of information about the resource management system in question, they can be integrated to constitute a more robust and flexible planning framework. This paper describes applications of these models in different case studies. Applications of the first two models are reported in detail elsewhere, hence, they are only described briefly. The third model, called fuzzy cognitive mapping, is described in more detail including an illustrative case study. Experiences and lessons learned from these selected sets of applications are also discussed.

Introduction

The concept of sustainability has become prominent in almost all natural resource management situations. Its great appeal has dominated discussions about resource utilization, conservation, biodiversity, and many other resource development and management issues. Despite some lingering differences and confusion about the meaning and essence of sustainability, there is widespread acceptance that it is, in principle, a noble goal that all resource management must strive for. Consequently, the literature is now rich with reports and discussions about its meaning and practice. Over the last few years, significant amount of effort, resources, and initiatives worldwide have been dedicated to the implementation of sustainable management of forests and other natural resources. For example, one of the most common initiatives is the development of criteria and indicators for assessing and monitoring sustainability.

The practice of sustainable resource management has also brought new paradigms in terms of how it is implemented at the field level. Traditionally, resource management has often been entrusted to experts and professionals who exert enormous influence in how forests and other resources are managed. Local communities and other stakeholders have, in the past, been marginally involved in the planning and decision-making processes that ultimately affect how the resources were managed. This traditional management paradigm has, over the last decade, been considered ineffective and unable to address the challenges posed by sustainable resource management (Hjrotso, 2004, Reynolds et al., 2003, Guldin, 2003, Rosenhead and Mingers, 2001, Bousquet and Le Page, 2004). In its place, the paradigm of participatory or collaborative management has been widely accepted as a more appropriate and effective paradigm for natural resource management particularly in the developing nations. Consequently, there now exists a large body of resource management and development literature describing and advocating the practice of participatory approaches to resource management.

This paper aims to describe modeling approaches to support the participatory or collaborative management paradigm. Participatory approaches have been sufficiently described in the published literature and will not be rehashed here. The paper however, will describe the principle of participatory or collaborative modeling in general and also describe how it has been applied in a number of case studies. Many of these applications or case studies have been reported elsewhere; hence, the descriptions presented in this paper are brief. Readers are referred to relevant literature for more details.