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Holistic Management Allan Savory with Jody Butterfield, Holistic Management (Island Press 1999) Holistic management is a new framework for decision making on all levels that is based on resource management of the whole. It is a systemic approach, comprehensive in its inclusion of decision makers, the entire natural resource base and money. Savory developed the approach from his wide experience managing game lands in Africa and later, farming in New Mexico. Holistic Management considers the key role that animals play in renewing the land and on recognizing the nature and importance of four basic ecosystem processes: the water cycle, the mineral cycle, the energy cycle and community dynamics. Nothing can be managed apart from an understanding of the whole, the many communities of which it is a part. Establishing a holistic goal that includes quality of life, forms of production and the future resource base drives decision making. Savory’s system includes eight tools for managing ecosystem processes: human creativity, technology, rest, fire grazing, animal impact, living organisms, and money and labor. Testing and management guidelines, planning procedures and a feedback loop assure constant monitoring of the success of decisions. Holistic Management is an important book for people who manage people, communities, land or money or anyone who cares about creating a sustainable future. Savory’s Center for Holistic Management in Albuquerque, New Mexico, conducts seminars, publishes materials and has a web site, www.holisticmanagement.org. Return to Top Practical Applications Books in Brief Click here to buy Holistic Management from Amazon.com |
