Ecosystem-based management, ecosystem services and aquatic biodiversity : theory, tools and applications

Abstract

Environmental problems are very often wicked problems: they are persistent, they have no clear end, and involve moral choices resulting in winners and losers. Just as the ecological and biological elements of these problems are dynamic and complex, so the social and political elements are also constantly changing and do not follow linear patterns. Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is an approach developed to work on wicked problems that recognizes social-ecological systems and the need to incorporate systems thinking into natural resource management. In this chapter we describe the scope and scale of this book and briefly discuss its four sections: • foundational concepts • tools for the practice • national and international governance contexts • case studies.