As the 21st century approaches, the need to put principles of sustainable living and ecosystem management into practice has never been so urgent. Ecosystem Management for Sustainability recognizes this need and shares the experiences of the editor and 54 contributing authors, each leaders in the advancement of ecosystem management and champions of the natural environment. The book uses the Man And Biosphere program as a case example of a wide variety of resource management activities at work. Through the multi-authored contributions to this book, documentation of a comprehensive spectrum of ecosystem management and sustainable development principles is achieved. Ecosystem Management for Sustainability provides a link between theory and practice of these two philosophies.

Volume 3: Managing the Ecosystem focuses on those ecosystems in which human intervention has been or continues to be predominant, specifically within cities and rural areas.

Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is one of the most holistic approaches to protecting marine and coastal ecosystems as it recognizes the need to protect entire marine ecosystems instead of individual species. After decades of pollution, habitat degradation and overfishing, now climate change and ocean acidification threaten the health of the ocean in unprecedented way. Environmental Management of Marine Ecosystems illustrates the current status, trends, and effects of climate, natural disturbances and anthropogenic impacts on marine ecosystems. It demonstrates how to integrate different management tools and models in an up-to-date, multidisciplinary approach to environmental management. This indispensable guide provides several case studies from around the world and creates a framework for identifying management tools and their applications in coral reefs, fisheries, migratory species, marine islands and associated ecosystems such as mangroves and sea grass beds. It discusses the physical and chemical compositions of marine ecosystems along with the threats and actions needed to protect them. The application of model framework to several contemporary management issues include the modelling of harmful algal bloom dynamics, understanding the dispersal of sea lice, and the possible impacts on intertidal communities of the provision of novel offshore habitat. The results of extensive research by an international team of contributors, the Environmental Management of Marine Ecosystems is designed to inform scientists, practitioners, academics, government and non-government policymakers on the particularities of marine ecosystems and assist them in understanding the EBM approaches in means of mitigation and adaptation of human activities that result in sustainability. These practices will help change the current methodologies used for resource assessment and the future regulations of marine resources.

The field of Environmental Management (EM) involves a broad and evolving repertoire of practices. The field originated around 1970 in response to new policy, regulation and public concern about environmental issues. EM has undergone many changes and improvements since then, progressing from a reactive, compliance-based focus toward, in leading cases, practices reflecting strong commitment to sustainability. And yet, EM remains, for the most part, ill-equipped to deal with the complex and highly uncertain implications of the ecological crisis. Environmental Management offers a rigorous critique of conventional EM and explores alternative ideas, frameworks and approaches that are currently considered "fringe", but which have the potential to transform the practice of EM. This book goes beyond narrow definitions and considers questions regarding the purpose, roles, scope and potential of environmental management. EM is situated and contextualized within the evolving and expanding realm of environment and sustainability literature. The book argues that new approaches to EM need to be more flexible, imaginative and better equipped to address future environmental problems of a scale and severity previously unforeseen. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental management, environmental planning, resource management, and environmental assessment.

This book deals with issues and concerns for the human environment in the developing countries incorporating natural processes and systems, pollution removal technology, energy conservation, environmental impact assessment process, economics, culture, political structure and societal equity from a management point of view. Solutions to the emerging problems of the environment need a paradigmatic shift in approach from a process based model to a socio-political-economic model. Hence environmental management should involve equality and control over use of the finite natural resources and the balance between Earth’s biocapacity and humanity’s ecological footprint. Changes such as green technologies, human population stabilization and adoption of ecologically harmonious lifestyles are absolutely essential and will require redesigning of political institutions, policies and revisiting forgotten skills of sustainable practices of environmental management. These challenges should centre on environment governance using the concepts of common property, equity and security. This book is relevant for academics, professionals, administrators and policy makers who are concerned with various aspects of environment management and governance.

This book is about doing innovative research to achieve sustainable and equitable change in people’s health and well-being through improved interactions with the environment. It presents experiences from the field of ecosystem approaches to health (or ecohealth research) and some insights and lessons learned. It builds on previous literature, notably Forget (1997), Forget and Lebel (2001), Lebel (2003), and Waltner-Toews et al. (2008). Through case-studies and other contributions by researchers supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the book presents evidence of real changes in conditions of people, their health, and the ecosystems that support them. These changes were derived from applications of an ecosystem approach to health in developing regions of the world. The book also illustrates the resulting body of applied, participatory, and action research that improved health and environmental management in developing countries and, in many cases, influenced policies and practices.