Incorporating ecosystem-based management into urban environmental policy: a case study from western Washington

The worldwide growth of urban settlements affects the management of natural resources and has prompted scholars in the natural and social sciences to call for ecosystem-based approaches to the management of human settlements. While considerable literature exists on the definition, theoretical underpinnings and methods for applying ecosystem-based management (EBM), few studies have examined whether urban and regional planners consider elements of EBM when developing environmental policy. This study assesses the extent to which planners apply EBM principles when reviewing scientific information for environmental policies in western Washington State. Using a working definition of EBM based on existing literature, the study conducts a content analysis of interview data from 42 environmental planners working for cities in western Washington, and asks what elements of EBM are considered as they review scientific information. The results suggest that elements related to monitoring, inter-agency co-operation, ecological boundaries, values and to a limited extent, adaptive management, are considered when planners review scientific literature for environmental policy development. However, urban and regional planners struggle with, or do not explicitly consider, the elements of scale, ecological integrity and organisational change when developing local environmental policy. The paper concludes with a description of why some elements of EBM are considered and why others are not, and offers suggestions for improving urban environmental policy development through application of EBM principles.