ABSTRACT
Simple answers, definitions and hypotheses are never adequate for discussing complex systems and, by implication, ecological integrity. If ecological integrity refers to our sense of the wholeness and well being of an ecological system, then the people assessment of integrity should begin with an analysis of the system the people are examining. Ecological integrity is about the people sense of the wholeness and well being of ecological systems and, in this, must reflect our sense of what they value in them. There are three distinct issues to be dealt with in developing a monitoring scheme for ecological integrity. First, the changes in organization to be associated with changes in ecological integrity must be identified. Then comes the scientific and technical problem of how to quantify these changes. The process of developing a monitoring framework must begin with identifying the users of the information gained from the monitoring.
