ABSTRACT
The ecosystems and biota we see today represent the evolution of life over a period of almost four billion years. Environmental fluctuations have led to changes in ecosystems and biota. This chapter discusses the difficulties that ecosystem management poses for the ecological sciences and the implications of this for policy makers and the policy process. The ecological profession is becoming better equipped to communicate with government and society at large. The concept of sustainable development or ecologically sustainable development has been adopted by most nations and is reflected in much recent government policy and legislation. A number of institutional and legislative initiatives have been put in place to promote sound environmental management. Long-term ecological monitoring is a central component of any move to sustainability because it provides a basis to track fluctuations in specified components of the environment and thereby evaluate the appropriateness of management regimes and options for achieving sustainability goals.
