Interdisciplinary Problem Solving in Species and Ecosystem Conservation

Many species and ecosystems are threatened worldwide. Improved problem solving and leadership are needed to address this growing problem. Interdisciplinary problem solving is an innovation that permits leaders to address complex problems more rationally, practically, and morally than use of traditional disciplinary methods. This proven interdisciplinary approach can guide problem solvers in their search for improved conservation policy and programs for species and ecosystem sustainability. The approach focuses inquiry on “defining” the problem at hand and understanding its context in terms of the human social and decision process at play. Basic problem-solving tools include problem orientation, mapping the social and decision process, and analyzing basic beliefs. Because a professional can assume many roles in the search for conservation improvements, he or she must also clarify his or her standpoint. Finally, all the above must be integrated into an overall judgment, and responsibility taken for this judgment. Interdisciplinary problem solving is a skill that can be taught, learned, and applied. It can aid leaders and professionals in their search for improved conservation. This paper poses and answers questions about the policy or management process and the content of interdisciplinary problem solving. The Yellowstone grizzly bear conservation case is used to illustrate the interdisciplinary approach. The analytic framework detailed in this paper can guide a professional in his or her work. Species and ecosystem conservation requires problem-solving strategies. The traditional strategy used until recently is disciplinism, emphasizing a single discipline, or a few disciplines in a multidisciplinary approach, to address problems. However, demands are being placed on professionals to become more interdisciplinary, policy relevant, and effective on many fronts (e.g., Pool 1990). If we think of a policy process (or management process) as the development and implementation of strategic aims, then skilled professionals have much to offer society to improve conservation. For example, human impacts on Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding national forests and wildlife refuges are receiving increasing attention and eliciting demands for improved management and policy (Clark and Minta 1994). Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) management in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is one particularly high profile case. Threats to grizzly bears may be defined in terms of habitat and population fragmentation and the biological measures needed to maintain or restore populations (e.g., Knight et al. 1999). However, they may also be understood as an interdisciplinary management problem, realizing that the conservation of grizzly bears and their ecosystem are only partly a technical problem and largely an outcome of complex human social dynamics—a policy process. Understanding this policy process and making it more effective is the key to achieving effective grizzly bear and ecosystem conservation. This paper first offers a brief overview of the policy process. Second, it examines three basic interdisciplinary problem-solving elements or perspectives that can be applied to species and ecosystem conservation. These can be Species and ecosystem conservation requires problem-solving strategies. The traditional strategy used until recently is disciplinism, emphasizing a single discipline, or a few disciplines in a multidisciplinary approach, to address problems.