The Emergence of Ecosystem Management as a Tool for Meeting People's Needs and Sustaining Ecosystems

Ecosystem management is an approach that attempts to involve all stakeholders in defining sustainable alternatives for the interactions of people and the environments in which they live. Its goal is to restore and sustain the health, productivity, and biodiversity of ecosystems and the overall quality of life through a natural resource management approach that is fully integrated with social and economic needs. For practical purposes, ecosystem management is generally synonymous with sustainable development, sustainable management, sustainable forestry and a number of other terms being used to identify an ecological approach to land and resource management. Ecosystem management emphasizes place- or region-based objectives, with scopes and approaches defined appropriately for each given situation. Because natural ecosystems typically cross administrative and jurisdictional boundaries, managing them requires interactions among different stakeholders and institutions. Ecosystem management remains an evolving force that must yet respond and adapt to numerous challenges.