Barriers to Effective Natural Resource Planning in a "Messy" World

Abstract

In the increasingly wicked and messy world in which natural resource planners function, traditional rational-comprehensive planning processes seem to function poorly, exacerbating already contentious situations, leading to decision paralysis and public dissatisfaction. New paradigms for natural resource planning have been recommended by many academics, planning theorists, and practitioners. Understanding the barriers experienced in current planning processes may suggest design criteria for these new processes. This study of planners, using a qualitative methodology, in four typical Western U.S. planning situations revealed some fundamental barriers to their effectiveness. These included lack of agreement on goals, rigidity in process design, procedural obligations and requirements. and a lack of trust. More fundamentally, institutional barriers in the design of natural resource planning processes often lead to these more operational level issues. The authors pose a heuristic model for understanding the linkages among these barriers.