Paul Fackler to co-lead tutorial on adaptive management in April 2020

Paul Fackler to co-lead tutorial on adaptive management in April 2020

CEnREP faculty affiliate and ARE professor Paul Fackler will be co-leading the tutorial, “Adaptive Management,” at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville‘s campus, on April 1-3, 2020.

The workshop is geared toward faculty, post-docs, advanced graduate students and industry professionals in resource economics, conservation biology, applied mathematics and related fields. Dr. Fackler will be co-leading the tutorial with Iadine Chadés (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia), David Kling (Applied Economics, Oregon State University) and Michael Springborn (Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis). The tutorial summary follows:

“Adaptive management seeks to determine sound management strategies in the face of uncertainty concerning the behavior of the system being managed. Specifically it attempts to find strategies for managing dynamic systems while learning the behavior of the system. This tutorial introduces participants to methods for modeling adaptive management, with an emphasis on case studies drawn from environmental and natural resource management. The tutorial reviews the key concept of a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and demonstrates how quantitative adaptive management strategies can be developed using MDPs. Additional conceptual, computational and application aspects will be discussed, including: dynamic programming and Bayesian formalization of learning. Case study applications covered in the tutorial will include management of endangered, invasive, and harvested wild populations. The tutorial features hands-on activities designed to help participants incorporate adaptive management approaches into their own research activities. Some prior knowledge of dynamic optimization, population modeling and/or computer programming is desirable.”

Participation in the workshop is by application only. Individuals with a strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply, and successful applicants will be notified within two weeks of the application deadline. Limited travel support is available for those with a demonstrated need. Applications are due January 12, 2020. For more information about the tutorial and a link to the online application, click here.