The ecosystem approach (EA) to management has long been recognized as a fundamental principle in instruments like the 1992 UN Convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD) and the 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries. In 2002, in Johannesburg, world leaders have committed to the application of EA by 2010.

But the principle encompasses diverse, often interacting concepts that have left practitioners and stakeholders intimidated and grappling with how it is to be implemented. However, it is recognized that the CBD framework is an overarching one which can marry with a strengthened, sectoral approaches like an EA to fisheries. This is because both consistently follow a set of principles. To this end, a planning process and management approaches like an integrated coastal management or co-management, but with EA as its central framework, can be instrumental to a successful implementation. The seminar presented a menu of processes and tools towards an EA to conservation and fisheries management, aiding to a milieu that allows a clearer way of what an EA is and how is it is applied on coastal or on ocean areas.