INSTITUTIONS MATTER - THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES OF ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT

As management philosophy focused on sustainability, ecosystem manageme nt calls for a reassessment of how we approach nature, science and pol itics. Implementation of ecosystem management will require changes in society's institutions. However, the exact requirements for institutio nal change are unclear. Therefore, in order to move toward implementin g ecosystem management, a better understanding of the relationships be tween institutions and natural resource management will be required. T he purpose of this paper is to examine institutional barriers and ince ntives to ecosystem management and to encourage a dialogue on this sub ject among resource managers, the public, and researchers. To this end , the paper identifies five problem areas where additional understandi ng of the institutional requirements for implementing ecosystem manage ment is needed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.