Sustained+yield+management5

__Definition:__ Sustained yield management is a method for management and measurement of natural capital. The term applies to renewable resources and to the harvesting of a resource to the maximum extent without driving the supply down. In effect, the goal of working with sustained yield management is to live off the interest of a resource, without dipping into the capital. Sustained yield management can be illustrated on a bell curve, with the maximum sustainable yield at the peak of the curve. Any increased extraction or harvest beyond this point will begin to deplete the stock or reserve.

Sustained yield management is a complicated process when dealing with polar bears. Setting quotas for [|polar bear harvests] has proven very difficult, with the maximum sustainable yield being only as good as the estimates for the [|total population], which have proved challenging to figure out. One of the main challenges is the divide between scientific knowledge and local knowledge. Scientific estimates tend to produce low numbers, with local estimates producing higher numbers.

To reduce the confusion, current estimate models have been based on the sustainable harvest of female polar bears. This is an easy to understand approach and is made using a conservative estimate on population given the difficulty in determining the true population size. The maximum sustainable harvest is very low; the quota is set at less than 1.6% of female bears. Any more than this and the population begins to decline.