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The Ecosystem Approach Advanced User Guide

2. Steps to using the ecosystem approach

3. Applying the Ecosystem Approach

3.1	Task 1. How do you involve all members of society in decisions associated with the management of land, water and living resources?

3.2	Task 2. How do you ensure management is decentralised to the lowest appropriate level?

3.3	Task 3. How do you ensure the effects of management actions (potential or actual) on adjacent and other ecosystems are taken into account?

3.4

Task 4. How can the economic context be understood so that
Market distortions that affect biological diversity are reduced
Incentives are developed to promote biodiversity and sustainable use
Ecosystem costs and benefits are externalised?

3.5	Task 5. What measures could be used to conserve ecosystem structure and functioning so as to maintain ecosystem services?

3.6	Task 6. What measures can be taken to ensure ecosystems are managed within the limits of their functioning?

3.7	Task 7. What actions can been taken so that the problem(s) is (are) addressed at the appropriate temporal and spatial scales?

3.8	Task 8. How can varying temporal scales and lag-effects be taken into account when considering the sustainable use of ecosystems?

3.9	Task 9. How can adaptive management be used to address the problem(s) identified?

3.10	Task 10. How can an appropriate balance be sought between, and integration of, conservation and use of biological diversity?

3.11	Task 11. How do you ensure all forms of relevant knowledge including, scientific, indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices are included?

3.12	Task 12. What measures can be taken to facilitate the involvement of all stakeholders including all sectors of society and scientific disciplines?

3.13	Cross-cutting issues

4. Creating a Management Plan

5. Assessing a project against the ecosystem approach

Often an activity undertaken to meet a particular problem will address more than one ecosystem approach principle or task outlined above. For example, involving stakeholders in decision making processes could meet tasks 1, 2, 10 and 12. By assessing what activities meet which tasks it is possible to decide if the project is applying the ecosystem approach. Filling in the table below allows the project to be assessed against the ecosystem approach as a framework. It might be necessary to create a series of tables covering the different sub-issues being addressed by the project. The table can also be used to determine whether particular principles are not being met. If this is the case referring back to the tasks and the reasons why they are important to the ecosystem approach might highlight to the assessor whether activities are being missed. Conversely it is also legitimate to view some principles as more important than others. Where this is the case it is can be useful to provide reasons why a principle has not been met for future analysis of the project. By including information on the tools and methods being used to meet the task it is also possible to determine if there are links between particular task and a sub-issue of the project. For example if public participation is being used to meet several sub-issues and tasks it might be possible to combine efforts to reduce costs and the time taken to consult with stakeholders.

Table 1. Assessing a Project against the 12 ecosystem approach tasks

Task	Action/Project Activity	Tools/Method being used
Task 1 Societal Choice
Task 2 decentralised management
Task 3 effects on adjacent ecosystems
Task 4 Economic context
Task 5 Maintain ecosystem services
Task 6 Limits to ecosystem function
Task 7 Appropriate spatial/temporal scale
Task 8 Long-term management
Task 9 Change is inevitable
Task 10 integration of conservation and use
Task 11 Consider all forms of knowledge
Task 12 Involve science and society

References