Page "Ecosystem" Paragraph 38

Although definitions of ecosystem management abound, there is a common set of principles which underlie these definitions.

A fundamental principle is the long-term sustainability of the production of goods and services by the ecosystem ; " intergenerational sustainability a precondition for management, not an afterthought ".

It also requires clear goals with respect to future trajectories and behaviors of the system being managed.

Other important requirements include a sound ecological understanding of the system, including connectedness, ecological dynamics and the context in which the system is embedded.

Other important principles include an understanding of the role of humans as components of the ecosystems and the use of adaptive management.

While ecosystem management can be used as part of a plan for wilderness conservation, it can also be used in intensively managed ecosystems ( see, for example, agroecosystem and close to nature forestry ).