Collaborative approaches to natural resource management have become increasingly popular since the 1980s in the United States, to the point where the federal government now mandates them for some federal activities and federally funded projects. For example, through the Healthy Forests Restoration Act and appropriations for the National Fire Plan, Congress has directed that federal land management agencies should make the states and local governments full partners in collaborative resource management, and work closely with citizens and governments at all levels. (Public Law 108-148) In August 2004, President Bush released an Executive Order calling for cooperative conservation, with an emphasis on appropriate inclusion of local participation in federal decisionmaking, [including] collaborative activity among federal, state, local, and tribal governments, private for-profit and nonprofit institutions, other nongovernmental entities and individuals.

Natural resource policies provide the foundation for sustainable resource use, management, and protection. Natural Resource Policy blends policy processes, history, institutions, and current events to analyze sustainable development of natural resources. The book’s detailed coverage explores the market and political allocation and management of natural resources for human benefits, as well as their contributions for environmental services. Wise natural resource policies that promote sustainable development, not senseless exploitation, promise to improve our quality of life and the environment. Public or private policies may be used to manage natural resources. When private markets are inadequate due to public goods or market failure, many policy options, including regulations, education, incentives, government ownership, and hybrid public/private policy instruments may be crafted by policy makers. Whether a policy is intended to promote intensive management of natural resources to enhance sustained yield or to restore degraded conditions to a more socially desirable state, this comprehensive guide outlines the ways in which natural resource managers can use their technical skills within existing administrative and legal frameworks to implement or influence policy.

Cultivating Peace: Conflict and collaboration in natural resource management

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Participatory research has emerged as an approach to producing knowledge that is sufficiently grounded in local needs and realities to support community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), and it is often touted as crucial to the sustainable management of forests and other natural resources. This book analyses the current state of the art of participatory research in CBNRM. Its chapters and case studies examine recent experiences in collaborative forest management, harvesting impacts on forest shrubs, watershed restoration in Native American communities, civic environmentalism in an urban neighborhood and other topics. Although the main geographic focus of the book is the United States, the issues raised are synthesized and discussed in the context of recent critiques of participatory research and CBNRM worldwide. The book's purpose is to provide insights and lessons for academics and practitioners involved in CBNRM in many contexts. The issues it covers will be relevant to participatory research and CBNRM practitioners and students the world over.

Collaborative approaches to governance are being used to address some of the most difficult environmental issues across the world, but there is limited focus on the challenges of practice. Leading scholars from the United States, Europe and Australia explore the theory and practice in a range of contexts, highlighting the lessons from practice, the potential limitations of collaboration and the potential strategies for addressing these challenges.

The contexts range from farmer field schools, to floodplain management and community forestry.