ABSTRACT
Ecosystem-based approaches involve adopting a holistic view of managing resources in the context of their environment. This chapter argues that implementing ecosystem-based management in the coastal and marine environment requires a new interdisciplinary science. One important point stands out in each case of ecosystem-based management: the central role of governance. In each case, the outcomes are not determined by science but by a combination of the effects of drivers, exploitation strategies of users, management strategies and decisions, and science. The chapter explores a range of new governance approaches to help implement ecosystem-based management. The chapter discusses marine and coastal environments as complex social-ecological systems. The chapter argues that ecosystem-based management has to come to terms with uncertainty and complexity, an interdisciplinary visioning of management objectives, and putting humans back into the ecosystem. Finally, ecosystem stewardship may be considered a distinct strategy or set of strategies to implement ecosystem-based management.
