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  • Book
  • © 2017

Marine Ecosystem-Based Management in Practice

Different Pathways, Common Lessons

  • The first practical guide to ecosystem-based management for coastal and marine ecosystems
  • Includes real-world case studies showcasing successful examples of marine ecosystem-based management
  • Offers solid advice from collaborative-planning experts, based on five years of exhaustive field interviews and research

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
  2. Drawing Lessons from Experience in Marine Ecosystem-Based Management

    • Julia M. Wondolleck, Steven L. Yaffee
    Pages 1-12
  3. Mobilizing a Multistate Partnership in the Gulf of Mexico

    • Julia M. Wondolleck, Steven L. Yaffee, Sarah McKearnan
    Pages 43-74
  4. Bricks: Tangible Elements That Support & Guide Marine Ecosystem-Based Management

    • Julia M. Wondolleck, Steven L. Yaffee
    Pages 153-186
  5. Implications for Policy and Practice

    • Julia M. Wondolleck, Steven L. Yaffee
    Pages 209-233
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 235-270

About this book

This volume is the first practical guide for the marine conservation realm. In a unique collection of case studies, the authors showcase successful collaborative approaches to ecosystem-based management. The authors introduce the basic concepts of ecosystem-based management and five different pathways for making progress from community to multinational levels. They spotlight the  characteristics that are evident in all successful cases —the governance structures and social motivations that make it work. Case analyses ranging from the Gulf of Maine to the Channel Islands in Southern California comprise the bulk of the book, augmented by text boxes showcasing examples of guiding documents important to the process. They devote several ending chapters to discussion of the interpersonal relationships critical to successful implementation of marine ecosystem-based management. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications for policy and on-the-ground practice.

Authors and Affiliations

  • School Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Julia M. Wondolleck, Steven L. Yaffee

About the authors

Julia M. Wondolleck is Associate Professor of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan. She is an expert in the theories and application of dispute resolution and collaborative planning processes, and is the author or coauthor of three books: Public Lands Conflict and Resolution: Managing National Forest Disputes (Plenum 1988), Environmental Disputes: Community Involvement in Conflict Resolution (Island Press 1990), and Making Collaboration Work: Lessons from Innovation in Natural Resource Management (Island Press 2000). Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she spent her youth sailing on the Bay and hiking in the Sierra. As a result, her research interests span both terrestrial and marine realms, most recently examining collaborative science in the NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System, contributions of Sanctuary Advisory Councils in the NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program, and community engagement strategies for the NOAA Marine Protected Areas Center. Dr. Wondolleck has an undergraduate degree in economics and environmental studies from the University of California–Davis and a master's degree and PhD in environmental policy and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Steven L. Yaffee is Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy at the University of Michigan. He has worked for more than forty years on federal endangered species, public lands and ecosystem management policy and is the author or coauthor of four books: Prohibitive Policy: Implementing the Federal Endangered Species Act (MIT Press 1982); The Wisdom of the Spotted Owl: Policy Lessons for a New Century (Island Press 1994); Ecosystem Management in the United States: An Assessment of Current Experience (Island Press 1996); and Making Collaboration Work: Lessons from Innovation in Natural Resources Management (Island Press 2000). A native of Washington, DC, he spent his youth hearing stories about public policy and politics while experiencing firsthand the loss of native habitat associated with urban sprawl; ultimately, that led to an interest in improving the process of decision making so that more environmentally sound decisions can be made. He has facilitated numerous collaborative processes across North America, and assisted a set of philanthropic foundations with ways to develop evaluation metrics for their conservation programs. He is currently working on a new book detailing the history and lessons of the California marine protected areas designation process. Dr. Yaffee received his PhD in environmental policy and planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His undergraduate and master’s degrees are in natural resource management and policy from the University of Michigan. He has been a faculty member at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the World Wildlife Fund.

Bibliographic Information