Searching for Effective Natural-Resources Policy: The Special Challenges of Ecosystem Management

No matter how elegant ecosystem management is scientifically, it will not reach its potential in western U.S., with its abundant public lands, unless it is effective public policy. Such policy is (1) an adaptive process, (2) utilizes the most appropriate science and technology, (3) is implementable, and (4) has low transaction cost. This paper focuses on the latter two characteristics which are shaped by social legitimacy, and proposes a procedure termed Collaborative Learning as a promising decision-making process for ecosystem management