ABSTRACT
Resource management has been defined by O'Riordan (1971: 19) as ‘a process of decision-making whereby resources are allocated over space and time according to the needs, aspirations, and desires of man within the framework of his technological inventiveness, his political and social institutions, and his legal and administrative arrangements’. O'Riordan argues that the emphasis in resource management should be ‘upon flexibility and the minimisation of long-term environmental catastrophes, while maximising net social welfare over time’, and that resource management is ‘becoming increasingly concerned with the protection and enhancement of environmental quality and the establishment of new guidelines for the public use of such common property resources as air, water, and the landscape’. Thus, O'Riordan's definition and related perspectives of resource management are closely aligned with the concept and application of carrying capacity and the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, as well as the models and frameworks presented in this chapter.
