Coastal First Nations have been practicing ‘eco-system-based management’ of the land and sea for countless generations.

For more than 10,000 years, our traditional resource management practices have sustained some of the richest cultures and societies on the planet.

Respect for the land, sea, spirit world and all livings things is at the heart of our interactions with nature.

We know that:

  • Everything depends on everything else.
  • The well-being of our communities is intricately tied to the well-being of the land and sea.

Only in recent decades has this traditional approach become described in scientific terms as ecosystem-based management (EBM).

Deep Connection to Land and Sea

Throughout the last century, industrial-scale extraction of land and sea resources  depleted and threatened plants, animals and habitats. Management decisions did not adequately consider impacts on the environment, or the relationships between plants and animals.

In a modern world, EBM recognizes that ecosystem health and restoration must be considered alongside social and economic well-being – to preserve our resources into the future. First Nations have known this for millennia, and bring both Traditional Knowledge and modern science to our ecosystem-based marine planning.

For millennia, we have been, and now are again, at the forefront of ecosystem-based resource management of our Traditional Territories.

Goals of Ecosystem-based Management

  • Maintain and restore healthy, diverse and naturally resilient ecosystems.
  • Sustain human use of ecosystems over generations.
  • Ensure people have a fair share of the benefits from the ecosystems in which they live.