Incorporating permaculture and strategic management for sustainable ecological resource management

• Published in: Journal of environmental management 2016-09, Vol.179, p.31-37
• Main Authors: Akhtar, Faiza, Lodhi, Suleman A., Khan, Safdar Shah, Sarwar, Farhana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural policy; Climate Change; Conservation of Natural Resources - economics; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Ecology - ethics; Ecology - standards; Environmental ethics; Environmental philosophy; Environmental Policy; Humans; Natural resource management; Natural resource management framework; Permaculture; Policy Making; Policy Matrix; Strategic management tool; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.04.051

Utilization of natural assets to the best efficient level without changing natural balance has become a critical issue for researchers as awareness on climate change takes central position in global debate. Conventional sustainable resource management systems are based on neoclassical economic approach that ignores the nature's pattern and therefore are not actually capable of sustainable management of resources. Environmentalists are lately advocating incorporation of Permaculture as holistic approach based on ethics, equitable interaction with eco-systems to obtain sustainability. The paper integrates philosophy of permaculture with strategic management frameworks to develop a pragmatic tool for policy development. The policy design tool augments management tasks by integrating recording of natural assets, monitoring of key performance indicators and integration of sectorial policies in real time, bringing out policy as a truly live document. The tool enhances the edifice process, balancing short term viewpoints and long term development to secure renewability of natural resources. •Study presents pragmatic strategic management tool for integrated policy development.•Tool systematically integrates heterogeneous (qualitative and quantitative) data.•It provides integration of sectorial policies in real time.•It provides recording for natural assets, monitoring of key performance indicators.•It provides feedback mechanism to the policy makers about their strategies.