Adaptive management is a modern solution to the complex and ever-changing reality of conservation. Adaptive management is the system used by large organizations to manage geographically and/or habitat diverse conservation projects. With the digitization of records and the ability to constantly track changes in human, animal, plant and weather activities and update central databases, adaptive management capitalizes on the most cutting-edge data to make informed decisions. The overall goal of adaptive management is to create conservation policies that have the largest positive impact on the greatest number of issues using the most current data available.
Ecosystem management is a conservation practice that lets conservationists within a particular field compare and argue their conservation plans. The general idea is that in a forum where many ideas are discussed and numerous perspectives are shared, the best ideas will rise to the surface. Not all ecosystem management groups are able to come to consensus, and often, the ideas of one group are in direct opposition to the suggestions or needs of another group. However, the United States Forest Service has adopted ecosystem management practices as its official policy for managing national forests with many positive environmental outcomes across the United States.
As sustainability and environmental costs have become more important to consumers and farmers, conservationists are looking at ways in which individual farmers can view their activities within a larger framework. Agroecology is a complex system that requires sustainable solutions that mesh with the conservation efforts of sustainable environmental, socio-economic, and urban development systems. Agroecosystems analysis attempts to classify agricultural activities by region and resource needs. An example of agroecosystem analysis is determining how a large farm and a nearby urban center can work together to conserve water and minimize their collective environmental impact.
Soft Systems Analysis is a method of conservation management that uses words, diagrams and images to explain complex conservation ideas and techniques across disciplines. Since effective conservation depends on many groups working together across government or agency jurisdictions, soft systems analysis gives conservation groups a common language in which to discuss management activities and goals. Multiple perspectives are valued in soft systems analysis since the more comprehensive and inclusive communication is, the more effective the outcomes.