30 November 2006
How can Ecosystems be managed successfully?
A recent American study has analysed and identified principles that are important for
successful integrative and collaborative ecosystem management. The results suggest that
it is possible to balance social, economic, and ecological benefits in environmental
protection and resource management projects.
There is debate whether it is possible to balance social, economic and environmental goals in ecosystem
management projects. There are several cases where social and economic factors have been combined
successfully in natural resource management and in community-based collaborative approaches to ecosystem
management. Nevertheless, little research has been done to understand the principles for conducting successful
ecological management, how to use it and why it is effective.
American researchers have recently analysed and identified factors that may be relevant for integrative and
collaborative ecosystem management. To this end, the authors carried out a comprehensive review of current
ecosystem management and the related literature. Once the determining factors were identified, a second part of
the study examined several controversial management situations in which environmental protection was increased
in order to determine how the different management factors were incorporated and the role they played in the
success in each case.
The authors identified the following eight factors that might be important for achieving integrative and collaborative
management::
1. Integrated and balanced goals. By creating an integrated balance among social, economic and ecological
goals, management plans are more likely to be socially acceptable, economically feasible, and ecologically
sustainable.
2. Inclusive public involvement. The process should involve all potential stakeholders, regardless of their
relative size or influence.
3. Stakeholders' influence. In order to achieve a joint decision it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the
decision-making process and to show them how their inputs are used.
4. Consensus group approach. This seeks a balance among a broad range of values and is therefore a key
element of collaborative processes.
5. Collaborative stewardships. It is important that stakeholders develop a sense of ownership and invest
personally in the plan.
6. Monitoring and adaptive management. Monitoring is essential to evaluate management effectiveness and
whether the goals are being reached.
7. Multidisciplinary data. Data collection, analysis and monitoring should take into account ecological, social
and economic variables.
8. Economic incentives. They are needed for stakeholders, local communities and agency partners to
implement plans.
The analysis of the case studies, which ranged in scale and conservation objectives, shows that balancing social,
economic, and ecosystem sustainability goals is possible, but only as long as one does not dominate at the
expense of the others.
The authors also observed that the economic considerations are broader than simply providing economic
incentives. Indeed, stakeholders may be willing to trade some economic value for recreational benefits such as
access to the protected areas. However, what individuals are willing to trade can only be determined by identifying
social concerns and collaborating with stakeholders. Therefore, the economic feasibility of a project may be
enhanced, or even determined by collaborative efforts.
The authors conclude that the long term benefits of adopting integrative and collaborative ecosystem management
outweigh the short-term difficulties. The results of this study are valuable for biodiversity conservation planning.
Source: H. L. Keough and D. J. Blahana (2006) “Achieving integrative, collaborative ecosystem management”, Conservation Biology
20(5):1373-1382.
Contact: [email protected]
Theme(s): Sustainable development and policy assessment, biodiversity
Opinions expressed in this News Alert do not necessarily reflect those of the European CommissionTo cite this
article/service: "Science for Environment policy": European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service, edited by BIO
Intelligence Service.
European Commission DG ENV
News Alert issue 45
November 2006
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