A solution to rigid government NRM planning requirements through adaptive management

A monitoring and adapting framework was developed for the Lachlan River catchment of NSW in conjunction with a strategic catchment plan to drive performance management and guide continual improvement during implementation. The framework guides effective evaluation and incorporates feedback loops to communicate lessons from implementation to policy making. Adaptive management is applied at different levels of management in different contexts, during different phases of the system's adaptive cycle. The plan was structured with desired outcomes and priorities to provide direction whilst limiting constraints to flexible and responsive approaches to achieve the strategy. Collective input on adequate performance will maintain rigor in reporting to government and community. Adaptive management processes have been designed based on triple loop learning. This builds skills, institutional and community capacity in monitoring and evaluation. It enables findings and facilitates adaptive natural resource management and evolution of the strategic plan. Governance requirements for approval of the strategic plan are clarified through the adaptive management framework.