The Ecosystem Approach – Practical experiences and next steps

The project has collected practical experiences of the implementation of the ecosystem approach in marine, water and fisheries management in Sweden, based on published literature and interviews with key informants in Sweden, Germany, Norway and the USA. The collation shows that Sweden has taken a number of steps towards a more ecosystem-based management, but also points to a number of challenges. One important experience is that ecosystem-based management requires extensive collaboration and communication between actors and a stable and sufficient financing. We see a need for a better management of the process from national authorities, a more long-term financing and better processes for knowledge exchange between actors. There is also an issue with policy incoherence and disagreement on goal conflicts, which need to be resolved at a national level. The implementation of programs of measures needs strengthening by clarifying responsibilities for reaching the targets and an ambitious monitoring of achievements. We also documented a need to further develop indicators for ecosystem-based management to monitor the progress towards a more ecosystem-based management.