Marine ecosystem-based management in the Southern Cone of South America: Stakeholder perceptions and lessons for implementation

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) has recently received considerable attention. However, examples of empirical approaches to marine EBM are scarce. Therefore, empirical information on the presence of EBM elements within existing policies and the way they may provide settings and lessons for EBM implementation is timely. This study analyses stakeholders’ perceptions on the existence of EBM principles in current marine management practices and policies, and how they determine perceptions for success and satisfaction regarding coastal management within selected case studies drawn from four developing countries in the Southern Cone of South America. Patterns of response across study sites show that although EBM principles as such are not explicitly included in management/conservation plans, there are policies (mainly local), which generate conditions for more explicit inclusion of them. These are based on participatory bottom-up planning, place-based management and consensus reaching: all elements included within the theoretical literature on EBM implementation.