Evaluating integrated resource management

Approaches to natural resource management based on the integration of community involvement, technical knowledge, and organizational structure and policy objectives are endorsed throughout Australia. The emerging paradigm of resource management supports a more flexible and adaptive approach to address the uncertainty, complexity, and interconnectedness associated with natural resource and human management systems. The translation of this concept into practice, however, is proving difficult, and proactive evaluation should help. But the evaluation of the effectiveness of integrated resource management (IRM) approaches both in Australia and internationally is relatively more neglected. This article discusses issues of IRM evaluation and proposes a conceptual evaluation framework that identifies a range of technical, institutional, economic, and social criteria that may influence the success of IRM in practice. This framework should facilitate the proper formulation of the natural resource management problem and its underlying characteristics.