1. PRINCIPLES OF ADAPTIVE HARVEST MANAGEMENT
Mikko Alhainen
Finnish Wildlife Agency
Extraordinary NADEG Meeting
on the Turtle Dove International Single Species Action Plan
26 April 2018, Brussels

2. Outline What we are working with? What is an “adaptive management”?
Management of habitats and harvest of migratory populations – a shared resource to be managed at Flyway context under many prevailing uncertainties
What is an “adaptive management”?
how can it be used to manage harvests?
Examples from Taiga Bean Goose Adaptive Harvest Management

3. Flyway management
Management of migratory populations shared by many countries requires
Coordination, commitment, negotiation and trade-offs
Periodic scientific assessment on the afforded sustainable take in respect to population status, management objective(s) and uncertainties (annual, biannual, triannual…)
Agreement on division of population level quota to national level increments
Ability at national levels to manage harvest level and to provide reliable data (minimum on population size and harvest)

4. Key Questions
How to make compromises and account for trade-offs between different objectives and values?
How to make the best decision we can with the available data and knowledge we have at hand now?
How to reduce the prevailing uncertainties and do a better job in the future?

5. Adaptive management
management in the face of uncertainty, with a focus on its reduction
often referred to as “learning by doing”
formal applications involve the use of decision science to:
provide an analytical structure to the management problem
help focus debate about objectives, possible management actions, and system behaviors
provide optimal management decisions in the face of uncertainty

6. Adaptive Harvest Management
Recognizes that the environment, and therefore the size of the harvest surplus, is variable over time
Recognizes that there may be other objectives beyond sustainable hunting opportunities (e.g., population goals)
Recognizes that there is uncertainty about population dynamics and the impacts of harvest
Uses all available data to inform a harvest decision
Is based on a transparent and scientifically rigorous decision making process

7. Adaptive Management
AM is a working model which, when properly used, can be a powerful tool when balacing contradictory objectives and managing natural resourses under many uncertainties.
Key features of successfull Adaptive Management Framework
Objective
Transparent
Trust building between stakeholders and ownership to the approach
Under contradictory views of staleholders, the approach can help to find balanced compromise leading to least mutual dissatisfaction.
Professional facilitator as a ‘honest broker’,
who has no stake in he decision
is committed to help the decision makers and stakeholders to agree on their objectives, management alterantives, models and monitoring and further to do informed decisions within the agreed framework

8. An Adaptive Harvest Management programme (or framework) is a two-phase system allowing double-loop learning
Enables development of knowledge and improved decision-making as the process advances.

9. During the set-up phase stakeholders determine/decide
population objectives.
potential management alternatives
predictive models
monitoring protocols and plans, to be able to follow the population response to management actions and to be able to learn from the differences from predictions and the observed changes.
Finally the structure and annual cycle of the Iterative phase need to be agreed by the stakeholders

10. Based on agreed objectives and working models in the set-up phase, the process moves to the iterative phase.
At this stage,
decisions on population management (hunting quota) are made,
the impact of actions monitored
results assessed
to increase understanding of the system
in order to inform decision-making in the next year
contributing to achievement of population objectives.

11. Set-up phase of the Taiga Bean Goose AHM programme
Starting point and overarching principle
Agreed in the ISSAP for Taiga Bean Goose
Was agreed in the IWG meeting December 2016
Agreement on key issues of the Set-up Phase
and
the structure of the annual cycle of the Iterative phase
formed the basis to initiate the work in 2017.
The set-up phase of the TBG AHM process has, in practice, started with the preparation of the ISSAP. In the course of the action planning process, population objectives and key tools to achieve them were identified and agreed with close involvement of all relevant stakeholders. Following the adoption of the TBG ISSAP, predictive population models and management alternatives were developed.
The set-up phase of the AHM can be concluded at the first meeting of the AEWA EGM IWG, which is the decision-making body in the framework of the AEWA European Goose Management Platform (see Figure 2). Once the set-up phase has been concluded and the range states have agreed on management alternatives for AHM and predictive models, monitoring programme and other issues relevant for the process, the iterative phase can be initiated.

12. Structure for annual
Taiga Bean Goose
AHM cycle (circular graph).

13. Dynamic harvest strategy under preparation
Adaptive Harvest Management Interim Harvest Strategy of Taiga Bean Goose - to get started on Flyway Management
Low-level of harvest as a trade-off between population recovery rate and some harvest opportunities
Dynamic harvest strategy under preparation
Adaptive strategy foreseen in future, when data availability allows

14. Decision to open harvest at 3% harvest rate
Taiga Bean Goose
Decision to open harvest at 3% harvest rate
Population size ~ in January 2017
Country
National quotas
Russia 15 %
350
Finland 49 %
1,144
Sweden 26 %
607
Denmark 10 %
233
Total
2,334

15. What to remember An effective, adaptive approach
Provides a clear connection between actions and objectives
Provides an efficient use of management resources and information
Facilitates communication among stakeholders
Get the problem framing right
Better to have a suboptimal solution for the correct problem than an optimal solution for the wrong problem
Frame the problem within your capacity to address it (uncertainties, budgets, institutional capacity)
The models and level of harvest compared to population size is determined species by species, but the approach and structure of decision making can be applied at more general level.
The models are important, but they can be seen also as a vehichle on our journey towards sustainable harvest. As with TBG interim strategy, we can start simple but it means more uncertainty which is accounted as smaller relative harvest.
Monitoring is also a crucial point.

16. Thank You
The harvest models are important, but they are like a vehicle on our journey of Adaptive Management towards sustainable harvest.
The more money and knowledge we have, the better vehicle we can build to drive fast and safe
We can start our journey with the vehicle we can build now, and drive slow to be safe while looking forward to update our vehicle on the journey in respect to our increased knowledge and available resources.
estimates on pop size and harvest
are essentials to start the journey

17. Bird abundance Habitats Harvest Resources Resources Breeding Hunting
Quantity
Quality
Predation
For the future of viable waterbird populations we need to work at multiple levels and scales.
Waterbird abundance is a result of habitats and harvest.
The huntable bird populations are dependent on a landscape level network of quality habitats and at a sustainable harvest levels that does not jeopardize the future of the population while taking into account social, ecological and economical carrying capacities
Harvest opportunities and hunters provides significant resources for habitat management, and there is great potential for the benefit of wildlife habitats
Staging
Other legal harvest
Wintering
Habitat management
Adaptive Harvest Management