The challenges of implementing global policy: the ecosystem approach and forests

摘要: Numerous policy approaches have been developed for the conservation and management of the natural environment. These include the ‘ecosystem approach’, the concepts of ‘ecosystem services’,‘multi-purpose forestry’and ‘sustainable forest management’. These approaches are all different from one another but often overlap, which can be challenging for those involved in their implementation and practical application. The ecosystem approach, for example, despite being formally endorsed by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2000 has been difficult to implement in specific environmental contexts and institutional settings1.Like many other international agreements, the CBD’s 12 ecosystem approach principles and five supporting guidelines are vague and open to a range of interpretations. Global environmental policy approaches are often kept ambiguous to satisfy the needs of the multiple stakeholders involved. Governments have therefore