What is ecosystem-based management?

Many definitions have been proposed for the concept of ecosystem-based management (EBM), which has led to a certain amount of confusion among scientists and government officials. Nevertheless, a consensus has emerged around the major conceptual elements of EBM. Generally speaking, EBM consists of a set of management approaches which are “close to nature”. EBM is a key component in the sustainable development of forests (the presence of an effective protected areas network would be another key component).

The Coulombe Commission of 2004 defined EBM as a forest management approach with the objective of satisfying a range of human values and needs, based on the processes, functions, and the integrity of ecosystems.

Similarly, a recent book (French only) entitled l'Aménagement écosystémique en forêt boréale defined EBM as an approach aimed at maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems, achieved by reducing the gap between managed and natural landscapes, in order to retain, in the long-term, all ecosystem functions, and consequently to retain the associated social and economic benefits.

In practice, EBM approaches can be inspired by natural processes in many ways. For example, logging techniques can be designed to mimic the dominant natural disturbances in the area (e.g. fire, windthrow, insect damage). Care can also be taken to retain a more varied stand structure (different-aged trees, standing or fallen deadwood, large-diameter trees, etc.) than that retained by traditional methods, which generally tend to simplify stand structure – thus bringing forests further from their natural states. Clearly, scientific knowledge of ecological relationships is crucial for successful EBM, in particular for understanding the natural range of ecosystem variability.