18. Collective management of complex adaptive systems Chair: Francois Bousquet, CIRAD, France Panel members: Kate Brown, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, UK Don Nelson, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Researh, University of East Anglia, UK Raphael Mathevet, Centre Ecologie Fonctionnelle &Evolutive, CNRS, Montpellier, France Bert de Vries, Copernicus Institute, Neth Env Ass Agency (MNP) / Utrecht University, The Netherlands Tim Lynam Michel Etienne Description: A wide range of methods and techniques have been applied to understand human conceptualisations and understandings of social ecological systems (SES’s) in collective learning processes. These have been used as tools for researching different actors’ representations of SES and in more action-orientated research as the starting point to facilitate collaborative or adaptive management. These approaches include mental models, companion modelling, consensus analysis, cognitive mapping, and many other forms of participatory modelling, mapping and scenario building. This session would examine how these approaches contribute to understanding and facilitating change in SES from a resilience perspective. By collating and reviewing empirical applications of these methods, it seeks to address the following questions and in so doing contribute to the development of theory for the management of complex adaptive systems: What insights into the dynamics of change and system resilience do these methods present? How comparable are the findings from different studies? How does the application of these methods support the development of more collaborative adaptive management, e.g. through facilitating social or co-learning? How can the different views and representations of diverse actors be accommodated? (to what extent are shared understandings or consensus necessary)? To what extent and in what circumstances can these be seen to empower resource managers? How do different roles within the process influence outcomes? How can these processes be most effectively evaluated?