Ecosystem-Based Management: Moving from Concept to Practice

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM), intended to restore, enhance and/or protect the resilience of ecosystems, is gaining momentum. It is often argued, though, that some of the difficulties to provide practical guidance to conduct EBM stems from the lack of a clear definition. EBM emphasises on factoring in complex linkages in social-ecological systems; dealing with adequate scales (both time and space wise); promoting adaptive management of complex and dynamic systems; and adopting integrated assessment and management frameworks. This chapter shows, on one side, challenges to build consensus on a definition that is both conceptually and theoretically sound as well as practicable; on the other, the enabling factors that make EBM actually happen.