The Problem with Problem Definition: Mapping the Discursive Terrain of Conservation in Two Pacific Salmon Management Regimes

Natural resource-based conflicts arise not only from divergent ideas regarding appropriate uses of the environment and resources but also from different conceptualizations of the environment and the human environment relationship. These conflicts, defined as problems, frame understandings of both causation and potential solutions. The problem with problem definition emerges when no consensus exists regarding what constitutes management's problem definition. This article focuses on the salmon problem, a problem that has embodied manifold and shifting conceptions of management, conservation, and control. Co-management institutions have provided greater access to previously marginalized groups to the management table. Diverse stakeholders bring with them a multiplicity of perspectives, world-views, and discourses. This article examines these diverging views, calling attention to deep-rooted disagreements and highlighting the need for both recognition and debate on the core values and objectives of management, as well as cultural mediators, interpreters who can traverse and translate the varied discursive terrain of stakeholders.