A role for economic analysis in the ecosystem management debate

Ecosystem managementʹs underpinnings have been biological in nature—the concern for ecosystem integrity, health, and resilience. This intent has been translated into a similar societal goal. However, its philosophy is still evolving biologically and socially. Since the geographic boundaries of an ecosystem may probably cross many different ownership types, this leaves landowners wondering how this new management approach will affect them. We discuss the role of economics within the ecosystem management debate. In addition, we also examine three existing economic analytical techniques that can be used to analyze ecosystem management, discuss the contributions of these techniques and their limitations, and identify three key points that an economic analysis should address. Finally, we survey five examples of ecosystem management in practice on United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service lands.