Ecological Integrity and the Management of Ecosystems

Download or read book Ecological Integrity and the Management of Ecosystems written by Steven Woodley and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1993-06-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, efforts are being made to rehabilitate badly degraded ecosystems and protect areas which have important ecological value, such as national parks, critical fish and wildlife habitats, natural communities and endangered species. Since human values are an integral part of the decisions to protect or rehabilitate-the goals and objectives for such actions are often unclear. Concepts of "health," "integrity" and "diversity" express important values associated with management actions but they do not provide clear guidelines for these actions. The criteria developed and applied in this book provide guidelines and serve as a road map to anyone involved in ecosystem management-scientists, land managers and policy makers.