Ecosystem management: Implications and opportunities of a new paradigm

Resource management is undergoing a shift in paradigms (Kessler 1992; Kessler et al. 1992; Franklin 1994; Rowe 1994). A paradigm is "an implicit theory or conceptual framework from which other theories or understandings derive their validity" (O'Donnell 1990); within science a paradigm provides researchers with model problems and solutions (Kuhn 1970). Advances in our understanding of how ecosystems function combined with changes in society's expectations are rapidly changing the way we perceive, study, and manage our resources. Contributions from the relatively new, and broadly integrative, fields of landscape ecology and conservation biology emphasize the importance of spatial context in planning and managing (Crow 1990; Bunnell and Kremsater 1994). Management emphasis is on the maintenance of large, dynamic systems. Central to this shift in paradigm is the concept of "ecosystem management". The term is increasingly being used by scientists, managers, policy makers and the general public, but not always with the same meaning (Johnson and Agee 1988; Salwasser 1988, 1992; Joyce 1992; Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in Clayoquot Sound [CSP] 1994; Grumbine 1994; Franklin 1994). Several authors provide historical reviews of the concept's development from different perspectives (Franklin 1994; Grumbine 1994; Jensen and Everett 1994). In this paper we examine the development of the concept, its implications, and the opportunities within a Canadian context.