Regional scale adaptive management: lessons from the north east salinity strategy(NESS)

The regional scale has become increasingly , important for natural resource management, with . funding support focused on regional plans. It is also the scale at which adaptive management - an approach to managing natural resources that actively seeks to learn from the implementation of policies and strategies - could be expected to work best. This article explores passive and active adaptive management through review of a salinity management program ill the north-east region of Victoria between J997 and 200l. The North East Salinity Strategy (NESS) was a conventional, passively adaptive program, but active adaptive management could have been considered. We sought to understand the NESS program logic through document review, semi·structured interviews and a focus group, and in the process looked for signs of adaptive management.