Closing the Loop: Adapting Conservation Plans

Story from Stuart Cowell, Conservation Management

So, you have a plan–or are developing a plan–that you are using to guide your work. Or maybe you have a plan, but it needs to be refreshed. You might be using the Healthy Country Planning method or the Open Standards, or another process. Within these different frameworks, how do you “close the loop?”

closing loop 3In Australia, we organized a workshop to see how we could use planning tools to check and adapt conservation plans. Mapoon and Pormpuraaw, the Olkola People, and the Lama Lama People whose lands fringe Princess Charlotte Bay all agreed to participate in the workshop. After a cautious start, the teams took up the challenge with gusto. By week’s end, teams cemented key lessons and had insightful reflections about closing the loop.

The workshop was supported by The Nature Conservancy and facilitated by coaches Andre Grant (Centre for Appropriate Technology) and Stuart Cowell (Conservation Managementwith support from Fergus McDonald and Ellie Bock.