Framework for Holistic Management Decision Making
Within organic agriculture, farmers and other stakeholders often face complex decisions and resource management challenges. Navigating these situations in a way that enhances environmental, economic and social outcomes can be challenging.
The Holistic Management (HM) framework, is a decision-making process tool, developed by the Savory Network as a solution to these challenges. The framework helps the user to respond to significant uncertainty and complexity and analyse their long-term impacts, through financial planning, planned grazing, and land and ecological management, all in relation to an understanding of ecosystem processes.
It consists of the following components:
- Holistic context: it incorporates all elements under management, including people, land, resources, and financial assets, within the context of the users’ values, long-term vision, and quality of life.
- Ecosystem processes: it accounts for the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental aspects of ecosystems processes (e.g., water and mineral cycles, energy flows, and social dynamics).
- Adaptive management: it implements a cycle of planning, action, monitoring, and adjustment to respond to changing conditions, encourage experimentation, and harness synergistic effects.
The HM framework can guide agricultural practices that restore and enhance the health of the ecosystem and build its resilience through biodiversity, such as through rotational grazing, cover cropping, no-till, integrated pest management and agroforestry. It can also be used in land restoration projects to improve water cycles and restore degraded landscapes. The HM framework training and support are provided by Savory network hubs. For the Irish context, 3LM is the hub which covers Ireland and the U.K.
Implementation of the HM framework does not necessarily require training as there are digital resources that can be used (such as the Handbook, website, and HM framework template to download). However, training is recommended, because the framework requires an understanding of ecosystem processes and ongoing support by experienced HM practitioners is often beneficial.
Find out more about this innovation by contacting Ali on ali@erinn.eu. For more innovations like this, visit our Innovation Hub.
