The Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity

3 Summary It has increasingly become accepted in recent years that ecosystems can only be managed sensibly if they are perceived and protected in their entirety. To this end, 12 principles for an ecosystem approach and 5 points of operational guidance have been elaborated in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity. They have not been applied to a marine ecosystem as yet. The " Ecosystem Research Wadden Sea " of 1989-1999 provides an appropriate case study for the practicality of these principles, because its integrative approach largely corresponds to the ecosystem approach. Principle 1: The objectives of management of land, water and living resources are a matter of societal choice Intensive publicity is an insufficient foundation for implementing management actions in a national park. Stakeholders whose economic interests are affected must be involved in the preparation of the management concept at an early stage (e.g. by the formation of working groups), particularly since the implementation of precise measures often requires the stakeholders' practical experience. When dealing with controversial and complex topics, it is advisable to employ independent mediators capable of formulating proposals to reconcile diverging interests. Decisions must be taken in a cooperative manner, because an ecosystem can only be protected effectively with active support from the local population; decisions must be binding, thus enabling stakeholders and conservation agencies to plan for the future. Principle 2: Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level. Decentralized structures make it possible to involve local stakeholders in the management of the region, and they help to take the local characteristics of the ecosystem into consideration. They also serve to convey proposals to the upper management levels. Effective management of an ecosystem meshes decentralized with centralized approaches in order to tune local interests to the general interests of society. If comprehensive research projects are conducted, it is advisable to form a steering committee that will delineate the practical requisites of the management to the participating scientists and explain the rationale of the research program to the population (see also guidance point 5). Principle 3: Ecosystem managers should consider the effects (actual or potential) of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems. Ecosystems are interlinked; this necessitates a corresponding linkage between research and management activities in different ecosystems. The management of each individual ecosystem requires an understanding of the large-scale ecological, economic and 4 social interactions between ecosystems. Therefore, sensible management is …