Learning in Sustainable Natural Resource Management: Challenges and Opportunities in the Pacific

The importance of learning in natural resource management (NRM) is being recognized by an increasing number of scholars and practitioners. A learning approach to NRM applies principles and theories of adult, organizational and social learning, and is underpinned by three core elements: systems thinking, negotiation, and reflection. By combining learning theories with concepts from adaptive management, comanagement, and participatory resource management, this article explores how the explicit inclusion of learning principles and processes can strengthen community-based natural resource management. Case studies from the South Pacific are used to draw out lessons for the wider application of learning approaches to NRM.