Politics and socio-economics of ecosystem-based management of marine resources

The ecosystem-based approach (EA) to the management of marine resources has been the focus of several recent publications (e.g. Browman & Stergiou 2004, Pikitch et al. 2004, Beddington & Kirkwood 2005, Daan et al. 2005). Despite this flurry of articles, the often over-riding importance of political and socio-economic forces in establishing and implementing the EA have not been adequately addressed (but see Turrell 2004). Thus, we canvassed experts who are familiar with this side of the EA issue, and managers involved in the decision to adopt it as national/international policy. Our goal was to provide marine scientists with insights into the forces driving the adoption of policies such as the EA, and the mechanisms through which they are operationalized (or not). We sought contributions from colleagues who have been engaged in the interaction of politics with science, and sought to cover as many perspectives as possible: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government, research institutes and universities. The contributors to this Theme Section (TS) describe the structural, technical, administrative, operational, socio-economic and scientific complexities associated with the adoption and implementation of a holistic EA. ‘Ecosystem services’, and the need to assess the cumulative impacts of all activities (extractive or otherwise) on the ecosystem, are emphasized in several of the contributions. The Large Marine Ecosystem (LME) concept emerges as a possible practical structure upon which the EA could be operationalized. The role of uncertainty at various levels of the science–policy interface, and its relation to implementing the EA, are taken up from various perspectives. Estimating fish abundance, and characterizing/predicting ecosystem structure and function, are inherently difficult, and the result will alTHEME SECTION