1. Ecosystem Approaches To Conservation
Photo from Wikimedia Commons

2. Ecosystem “A community of organisms interacting among
themselves and with their physical environment”
Photo from Wikimedia Commons; definition from Groom et al. (2006)

3. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
An approach to maintaining or restoring the composition,
structure, and function of natural and modified ecosystems
for the goal of long-term ecological and human sustainability
It is based on a collaboratively developed vision of desired
future conditions that integrates ecological, socioeconomic,
and institutional perspectives, applied within a geographic
framework defined primarily by natural ecological boundaries
…entails considering interacting human and natural systems
on large spatial and temporal scales
An extension of landscape-level conservation (see Lecture 12)…
From Groom et al. (2006)

4. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Ecological
perspective
Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
Who are
stakeholders?
Socioeconomic
(and political)
perspective
Stakeholders’
concerns,
needs &
values
See: J. A. Layzer Natural Experiments: Ecosystem-Based Management and the Environment. MIT Press.
See also: J. R. Karr’s (2009) review of Layzer (2008) – Ecosystem-based management: what really happens? Cons. Biol. 23:
Redrawn & modified from Groom et al. (2006)

5. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Stakeholders – people who want to or should be involved in a decision or action because they have some interest or stake in it
Have a real or perceived interest in a resource about which
decisions are being made; its use, its protection, or its users
Are dependent on a resource
Believe that management decisions will affect them
Are located in or near the areas about which decisions are being made
Pay for the decision or action
Are in a position of authority to review the decisions
Modified from Groom et al. (2006)

6. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Ecological
perspective
Target for
ecosystem
approach
Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
Socioeconomic
(and policital)
perspective
(individuals,
gov’t. agencies,
academic
institutions,
NGOs, etc.)
Institutional
perspective
Laws &
mandates
Staffing &
funding
Stakeholders’
concerns,
needs &
values
Redrawn & modified from Groom et al. (2006)

7. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
U. S. policies historically have been implemented in
response to crises in a piecemeal fashion, considering
only a single sector, activity, or threat at a time
The result is a fragmented patchwork of… laws…
that are interpreted by dozens of federal agencies
List of U.S. federal agencies
For lists of all federal agencies:
See:
See:
See for example:
Exec. Office – Council on Environmental Quality
Dept. Ag. – Forest Service (e.g., International programs)
Dept. Commerce – NOAA ( – Data)
Dept. Interior – Fish & Wildlife Service (e.g., Endangered species); National Parks
From McLeod & Leslie in Groom et al. (2006)

8. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Much of the history of natural resource management is a
history of control and domination: of people,
of resources, of other organizations
Effective ecosystem approaches involve a willingness to
give up some degree of control + +
etc.
Quotes from Groom et al. (2006); Smokey Bear image from Wikimedia Commons; Rancher photo from NGS

9. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Key elements
Shared vision for ecosystem condition & its uses (i.e., goals),
agreed upon through partnerships & collaboration, coupled with coordinated approaches to achieve & maintain targeted ecosystem condition
Respect & ensure private property rights
Support actions that incorporate sustained economic, environmental,
socio-cultural, and community goals
Establish baseline conditions, then monitor changes to help
evaluate if goals & objectives are being achieved
Integrate the best science available into the decision-making process,
while continuing scientific research to improve the knowledge base
Use an adaptive approach to management, to achieve goals &
advance an ever-better understanding of the ecosystem
Modified from Groom et al. (2006)

10. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Adaptive management
Management that is approached as an experiment, and that
responds in creative and innovative ways to changes
Breaks the “chain-of-command” top-down model
of resource management
See: Costanza (2008) Current History – “The key to achieving sustainable governance in the new full-world context is an integrated approach (across disciplines, stakeholder groups, and generations) based on the paradigm of ‘adaptive management,’ whereby policy making is an iterative experiment acknowledging uncertainty, rather than a static ‘answer’.”
Modified from Groom et al. (2006)

11. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Adaptive management
Clarify mission & goals
Develop conceptual model of system
Develop management plan (goals, etc.)
Adapt & learn
Develop monitoring plan
See: Costanza (2008) Current History – “The key to achieving sustainable governance in the new full-world context is an integrated approach (across disciplines, stakeholder groups, and generations) based on the paradigm of ‘adaptive management,’ whereby policy making is an iterative experiment acknowledging uncertainty, rather than a static ‘answer’.”
Analyze data & discuss results
Implement management & monitoring plans
Modified from Groom et al. (2006)

12. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
Adaptive management
E.g., Fire
Prescribed burns are important management tools, since they mimic natural disturbance processes for many ecosystems and help reduce risks of catastrophic events to human property and lives
Getting the fire “regime” right depends on adaptive management
Photo from

13. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
E.g., Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) – part of the Antarctic Treaty System
“The aim of the Convention is to conserve marine life of the
Southern Ocean. However this does not exclude harvesting
carried out in a rational manner.”
Logo from

14. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
E.g., Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) – part of the Antarctic Treaty System
Multiple stakeholders collaborate through this treaty to
manage the fisheries surrounding Antarctica
Map of member nations from

15. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
E.g., The Everglades
(where a principal resource is water)
Photo from:

16. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
E.g., U.S. Pacific Northwest Forests
(where a principal resource is timber)
Photo from:

17. Ecosystem (or Ecosystem-Based) Management
E.g., Mississippi River Drainage and Delta
See for example: John W. Day et al Restoration of the Mississippi Delta: Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Science 315:
Photo from: