What is monitoring? The Latin root of the word monitoring means “to warn,” and an essential purpose of monitoring is to raise a warning flag that the current course of action is not working. Monitoring is a powerful tool for identifying problems in the early stages, before they become dramatically obvious or critical. If identified early, problems can be addressed while cost-effective solutions are still available. For example, an invasive species that threatens a rare plant population on an installation is much easier to control at the initial stages of invasion, compared to eradicating it once it is well established. Monitoring is also critical for measuring management success. Good monitoring can demonstrate that the current management approach is working and provide evidence supporting the continuation of current management.
For monitoring to function as a warning system or a measure of success, one must understand what monitoring is and the close relationship between monitoring and adaptive management. In this handbook, monitoring is defined as the collection and analysis of repeated observations, or measurements, to evaluate changes in condition and progress toward meeting a management objective.
Monitoring is the glue that binds the adaptive management cycle. It provides information to assess success and guide future actions. To be successful, any monitoring project must reflect two key tenets. The first is that monitoring is driven by objectives. What is measured, how well it is measured, and how often it is measured are design features defined by how an objective is articulated. The objective describes the desired condition. Management is designed to meet the objective. Monitoring is designed to determine if the objective is met. Objectives form the foundation of the entire monitoring project.
The second tenet is that monitoring is only initiated if opportunities for management change exist. If no alternative management options are available, measuring a trend is futile. What can you do if a population is declining other than document its demise? Because monitoring resources are limited, they should be directed toward management actions for which management solutions are available.
When does monitoring succeed? Unfortunately, most monitoring projects are seemingly initiated in a vacuum, and thus are destined to fail. The reasons for this lack of success can easily be traced to one of several causes: confusing monitoring with inventory, confusing monitoring with research or dependence on “standard methods.”
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Author
Bob Unnasch, Ph.D.
Sound Science LLC
Monitoring biodiversity
Confusing monitoring with inventory
Confusing monitoring with research