ABSTRACT
The management of sensitive ecosystems facing multiple stressors requires a holistic approach that takes into account the often complex linkages between ecosystems, species, physical and chemical processes, as well as human activities. This chapter discusses two case studies of community leadership in marine and coastal management that are rooted in cultural history and based on a long-term connection between a coastal area and its inhabitants. The first involves customary marine management approaches in the Pacific Island countries, while the second discusses the satoumi approach in Japan. The ecosystem approach in its modern-day format largely came about as a management response to a decline in biodiversity and natural resources, when approaches focusing on the management of single species had failed to produce the desired effects. A worldview where all things are interconnected has resulted in management systems that are holistic, and are expressions of what we today call the ecosystem approach.
