ABSTRACT
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in planning and management of the natural environment and the resources that are derived from the functioning of component ecosystems. Th is shift is based on a number of key premises which recognize that:
• sustainability of economic systems and the quality of human life is inevitably dependent on the maintenance of healthy ecosystems;
• humans are an integral part of ecosystems rather than separate from them; and • a sectoral approach to planning and management is generally insuffi cient to
deal with the complex interrelationships and diverse stakeholder priorities that exist in the real world.
