Marine ecosystem services

Topic paper 1 – VALMER INTERREG IV A France (Channel) – England Project.

Over the past couple of decades we have begun to think differently about our relationship with the planet we live on. Increasingly nature is viewed not as something to be exploited or controlled but as something we need to work with; humans not as separate or above nature but as an integral part of the earth’s environment and ecological systems.

These new ways of thinking have slowly begun to filter through into new ways of managing and governing the natural environment which emphasise integrated, holistic approaches that are able to combine ecological, economic and social considerations and recognise the value of local as well as scientific knowledge. These new ways of thinking about, and doing, environmental management are often referred to as the Ecosystems Approach.