ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to set-forth a standardized protocol defining a high quality ecosystem plan that combines the concepts associated with ecosystem management and plan quality. In this sense, existing conceptions of what makes a high quality plan are extended by integrating the principles of ecosystem approaches to management. The comprehensive land use plan is proposed as an ideal policy instrument that can encapsulate and implement the major principles of ecosystem management at the local level. A high quality ecosystem management plan captures all of the principles and themes comprising ecosystem management and pulls them together as an integrated whole. The first major step in developing a protocol for ecosystem plan quality is to extend established planning theory and practice by adding ecosystem considerations to existing conceptions of what constitutes a high quality plan. Inter-organizational Coordination and Capabilities captures the ability of a local jurisdiction to collaborate with neighbouring jurisdictions and organizations to manage what are often transboundary natural resources.
