SUSTAINABLE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Michel Delara
20 August 2010
Sustainable Yields for Ecosystems
Discrete – Time Viability Methods for Sustainable Management

Professor Delara provided an introduction to sustainable development, which was described as being “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Natural resource management issues and viability were then discussed, including: dynamics; conflicting issues (long term versus short term, $ production versus $ reservation); decisions (emissions abatement, quotas); and uncertainties.

Professor Delara also introduced the concepts of Risk Management and Stochastic Viability.

Contributions to Quantitative Sustainable Management were then outlined.

Sustainable yields were also discussed. A general approach was proposed, which included: multi-specific dynamic model; long term time frames; methods (computing a set of viable states); and species by species yields which can be guaranteed without putting biological indicators below their reference points.

Case studies were outlined and a conceptual method towards ecosystem sustainable yields was canvassed.