Ecosystem approach

Last updated

The ecosystem approach is a conceptual framework for resolving ecosystem issues. The idea is to protect and manage the environment through the use of scientific reasoning. [1] Another point of the ecosystem approach is preserving the Earth and its inhabitants from potential harm or permanent damage to the planet itself. With the preservation and management of the planet through an ecosystem approach, the future monetary and planetary gain are the by-product of sustaining and/or increasing the capacity of that particular environment. [2] This is possible as the ecosystem approach incorporates humans, the economy, and ecology to the solution of any given problem. The initial idea for an ecosystem approach would come to light during the second meeting (November 1995) at the Conference of the Parties (COP) it was the central topic in implementation and framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), it would further elaborate on the ecosystem approach as using varies methodologies for solving complex issues. [3]

Contents

Throughout, the use and incorporation of ecosystem approaches, two similar terms have been created in that time: ecosystem-based management and ecosystem management. [1] The Convention on Biological Diversity has seen ecosystem-based management as a supporting topic/concept for the ecosystem approach. Similarly, ecosystem management has a minor difference with the two terms. Conceptual the differences between the three terms come from a framework structure and the different methods used in solving complex issues. [1] The key component and definition between the three terms refer to the concept of conservation and protection of the ecosystem. [1]

The use of the ecosystem approach has been incorporated with managing water, land, and living organisms ecosystems and advocating the nourishment and sustainment of those ecological space. [4] Since the ecosystem approach is a conceptual model for solving problems, the key idea could combat various problems. [5]

History

On December 29, 1993, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was signed and applied as a multilateral treaty. With the purpose of achieving:

  1. Biodiversity
  2. Sustainability of species diversity
  3. Endorse genetic diversity (e.g. to maintain and endorses livestock, crops, and wildlife)

Two years after the CBD was signed, during the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties (November 1995) the representatives of the signed treaty would agree upon employing a strategy to combat the intricate and actively changing ecosystem. [3] The ecosystem approach would represent as the equalizer for obtaining knowledge and creating countermeasures in preventing the endangerment of any ecological environment.

With the acknowledgment of the ecosystem approach, during the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, a group consensus agreed on a concrete definition and elaboration for the ecosystem approach would be needed, and the Parties would request Subsidiary Body on Scientific Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) to create a guideline with 12 principles and a description of the ecosystem approach. [3] The final results are given at COP 5 Decision V/6 summary. [6]

During the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties, further iteration on the ecosystem approach would be seen as a priority, during the meeting the parties would agree new implementation and strategical development could be incorporated with the ecosystem approach into the CBD. [7] Furthermore, creating a new relationship with sustaining forest organization and the ecosystem approach was talked about. All topics and discussion regarding seventh meeting are given at COP 7 Decision Vll/11 summary. [8]

Ecosystem approach and management

With the development and use of the ecosystem approach, different variation to that form have been created and used. The two being ecosystem management and ecosystem-based management, the framework of the three methods are still the same (the conservation and protection of the ecosystem). The distinguishing part beings with how to initiate the approach of solving the problem. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is used for projects that incorporate interaction of different levels: organisms, the ecosystem, and the human component; however, its varies from the other methods as the scale of the problem is larger and intricate. The objectives should be straightforward and condensed with important systematic information. Also, EBM considers social and cultural aspects into the solution not just only scientific reasoning. With ecosystem management, the process is similar to EBM; however, factors such as socioeconomics and politics can impact the decision and solution. A cultural aspect is also considered when creating a solution.

Ecosystem approach to fisheries

The ecosystem approach is currently being used in the fields of environmental and ocean management (i.e. the ecosystem approach does not stop there; it is being used in various fields and sub-fields as well). The goal is to address the current problems facing those fields through the use of conceptual thinking and approach that would determine a viable and sustaining solution. One example, in particular, would be pertaining to Fishery (a commercial industry in capturing and selling of fishes). In recent years, inland fisheries have quintupled from 2 million metric tons to 11 million metric tons in the span of 60 years from 1950 to 2010. [9] Through the use of the ecosystem approach more specifically the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF), sometimes referred to as Ecosystem-based fisheries. EAF is seen as a framework to creating local strategies for each specific fishery ecosystem and implementing the new strategies gradually with the already existing rules and regulation. With the use of EAF if successful fishery industries could generate substantial income; as well as, improve the fragile ecosystem of aquarium species.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention on Biological Diversity</span> International treaty on biological diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity ; the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources. Its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and it is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety</span> 2003 international agreement on biosafety

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) effective since 2003. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protected area</span> Areas protected for having ecological or cultural importance

Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources is limited.

Rio Convention relates to the following three conventions, which were agreed at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth Summit</span> 1992 United Nations conference

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the RioConference or the Earth Summit, was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable forest management</span> Management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management must keep a balance between the three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. The goal of sustainable forestry is to allow for a balance to be found between making use of trees while maintaining natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration. The forestry industry mitigates climate change by boosting carbon storage in growing trees and soils and improving the sustainable supply of renewable raw materials via sustainable forest management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity action plan</span>

A biodiversity action plan (BAP) is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). As of 2009, 191 countries have ratified the CBD, but only a fraction of these have developed substantive BAP documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DPSIR</span>

DPSIR is a causal framework used to describe the interactions between society and the environment. It seeks to analyze and assess environmental problems by bringing together various scientific disciplines, environmental managers, and stakeholders, and solve them by incorporating sustainable development. First, the indicators are categorized into "drivers" which put "pressures" in the "state" of the system, which in turn results in certain "impacts" that will lead to various "responses" to maintain or recover the system under consideration. It is followed by the organization of available data, and suggestion of procedures to collect missing data for future analysis. Since its formulation in the late 1990s, it has been widely adopted by international organizations for ecosystem-based study in various fields like biodiversity, soil erosion, and groundwater depletion and contamination. In recent times, the framework has been used in combination with other analytical methods and models, to compensate for its shortcomings. It is employed to evaluate environmental changes in ecosystems, identify the social and economic pressures on a system, predict potential challenges and improve management practices. The flexibility and general applicability of the framework make it a resilient tool that can be applied in social, economic, and institutional domains as well.

Ecosystem-based management is an environmental management approach that recognizes the full array of interactions within an ecosystem, including humans, rather than considering single issues, species, or ecosystem services in isolation. It can be applied to studies in the terrestrial and aquatic environments with challenges being attributed to both. In the marine realm, they are highly challenging to quantify due to highly migratory species as well as rapidly changing environmental and anthropogenic factors that can alter the habitat rather quickly. To be able to manage fisheries efficiently and effectively it has become increasingly more pertinent to understand not only the biological aspects of the species being studied, but also the environmental variables they are experiencing. Population abundance and structure, life history traits, competition with other species, where the stock is in the local food web, tidal fluctuations, salinity patterns and anthropogenic influences are among the variables that must be taken into account to fully understand the implementation of a "ecosystem-based management" approach. Interest in ecosystem-based management in the marine realm has developed more recently, in response to increasing recognition of the declining state of fisheries and ocean ecosystems. However, due to a lack of a clear definition and the diversity involved with the environment, the implementation has been lagging. In freshwater lake ecosystems, it has been shown that ecosystem-based habitat management is more effective for enhancing fish populations than management alternatives.

Sustainopreneurship is an idea that emerged from the earlier concepts of social entrepreneurship and ecopreneurship, via sustainability entrepreneurship. The concept aims to use creative business organization in order to solve problems related to sustainability. With social and environmental sustainability as a strategic objective and purpose, sustainopreneurship aims to respect the boundaries set in order to maintain the life support systems in the process. In other words, it is a "business with a cause" – where ideally world problems are turned into business opportunities by deploying sustainability innovations.

The consultative process towards an IMoSEB was a multidisciplinary effort from 2005 to 2008 that involved a large number of stakeholders and had a considerable political and media audience. Its aim was the creation of a value-added process by taking into account existing and current initiatives and mechanisms.

The World Wide Views projects were started in 2009 by the Danish Board of Technology Foundation to involve citizens in global environmental policy making through deliberation and voting.

Indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs), or Indigenous peoples’ and community conserved territories and areas, are spaces de facto governed by Indigenous peoples or local communities with evidently positive outcomes for the conservation of biological and cultural diversity. In ICCAs, the continuation, revival, or modification of traditional practices and/or new initiatives succeed in protecting and restoring natural resources and cultural values in the face of new threats or opportunities. Some ICCAs are situated in remote ecosystems that have had minimum human influence, while others encompass areas of various regulations and magnitudes within regions strongly affected or modified by human occupation. ICCAs may or may not fit the IUCN definition of “protected area” but, when they do, they can fall into any IUCN protected area categories.

The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2011–20 the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. The UN Decade on Biodiversity had served to support and promote implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, with the goal of significantly reducing biodiversity loss. None of the 20 aichi targets were achieved, though progress was made towards several of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conference of the parties</span> Supreme governing body of an international convention

A conference of the parties is the supreme governing body of an international convention. It is composed of representatives of the member states of the convention and accredited observers. Scope of the COP is to review the "implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention".

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) encompasses a broad set of approaches to adapt to climate change. They all involve the management of ecosystems and their services to reduce the vulnerability of human communities to the impacts of climate change. The Convention on Biological Diversity defines EBA as "the use of biodiversity and ecosystem services as part of an overall adaptation strategy to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference</span> COP 15 (Biodiversity)

The 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was a conference held in Montreal, Canada, which led to the international agreement to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030 and the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are sites outside of protected areas that are governed and managed in ways that deliver the long-term in situ conservation of biodiversity. As of March 2023, 829 such sites have been reported to the World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, managed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. OECMs cover 3,094,741 km2 (1,194,886 sq mi) of the Earth's surface, accounting for 2,716,531 km2 (1,048,858 sq mi) on land and 378,209 km2 (146,027 sq mi) in the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework</span>

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is an outcome of the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference. Its tentative title had been the "Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework". The GBF was adopted by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022. It has been promoted as a "Paris Agreement for Nature". It is one of a handful of agreements under the auspices of the CBD, and it is the most significant to date. It has been hailed as a "huge, historic moment" and a "major win for our planet and for all of humanity."

The 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is scheduled to be held from October 21 to November 1, 2024 in Cali, Colombia. The monitoring framework agreed at the previous conference should allow the progress of the countries towards national goals and targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to be evaluated.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Biodiversity-Ecosystem Approach". biodiversitya-z.org.
  2. ↑ "Ecosystem Approach". Archived from the original on 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
  3. 1 2 3 "CBD Guidelines" (PDF). CBD.
  4. ↑ "Ecosystem". CBD. 8 August 2019.
  5. ↑ JNCC-Ecosystem Approach
  6. ↑ COP 5 Decision V/6 summary
  7. ↑ COP 7 Decision Vll/11 summary
  8. ↑ COP 7 Decision Vll/11 summary
  9. ↑ Stoica, Maricica. "The ecosystem approach to ecological restoration management case study - Trotus hydrographic basin." Management Research and Practice, vol. 4, no. 3, 2012, p. 57+. Academic OneFile. Accessed 8 Nov. 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.