The California Current Ecosystem-Based Management initiative (CCEBM) is a joint effort between the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (COMPASS) and the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS) at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

What is ecosystem-based management?

The magnitude and scale of threats faced by marine systems – including biodiversity loss, climate change, coastal erosion, habitat damage and fragmentation, invasive species, and pollution – are increasing. Acting in concert, these impacts decrease the ability of marine ecosystems to deliver vital services to humankind, such as healthy seafood, clean water, and the protection of coastal areas from storm damage.  Conventional management approaches are not equipped to handle the combined impacts of this multitude of threats. Consequently, numerous bodies, including the Pew Oceans Commission and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, have called for a more comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach to management. 

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is an integrated management approach that considers the entire ecosystem, including humans. EBM focuses on addressing the cumulative impacts of human activities. The goal of EBM is to maintain the ecosystem in a healthy, productive, resilient condition so that it can provide the services humans want and need.

Click here for more information on COMPASS's work with EBM, including the Scientific Consensus Statement on Marine Ecosystem-Based Management.

What is the California Current Ecosystem-Based Management initiative?

The CCEBM initiative aims to advance the social and natural science needed to eventually implement comprehensive Ecosystem-Based Management along the west coast of the United States. This effort seeks to synthesize existing interdisciplinary scientific knowledge and catalyze the development of scientific research, tools, initiatives, and collaborations applicable to key coastal and marine management needs within the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

The centerpiece of the initiative was a working meeting of approximately 90 participants held in Santa Cruz, CA on January 30-31, 2008. Participants at the CCEBM working meeting principally included experts on the biophysical, economic, and social components of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem. Participants also included some policy makers and resource managers to help inform the scientific discussions and assist in applying scientific information in a practical context. To help accomplish the goals of the initiative, some scientific synthesis and preparation was undertaken by a Science Advisory Committee prior to the working meeting.

Click here for more details about the CCEBM initiative.

[Back to Top]