Natural resource management is entering a new era in which rapid environmental and social changes inevitably alter ecosystems and the benefits they provide to society. This textbook provides a new framework for natural resource management-a framework based on stewardship of ecosystems for ecological integrity and human well-being in a world dominated by uncertainty and change. The goal of ecosystem stewardship is to respond to and shape changes in social-ecological systems in order to sustain the supply and availability of ecosystem services by society. The book links recent advances in the theory of resilience, sustainability, and vulnerability with practical issues of ecosystem management and governance. Chapters by leading experts then illustrate these principles in major social-ecological systems of the world. Inclusion of review questions, glossary, and suggestions for additional reading makes Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship: Resilience-Based Natural Resource Managementin a Changing World particularly suitable for use in all courses of resource management, resource ecology, sustainability science, and the human dimensions of global change. Professional resource managers, policy makers, leaders of NGOs, and researchers will find this novel synthesis a valuable tool in developing strategies for a more sustainable planet.

"This is a textbook for Natural Resource Management, Resource Conservation and Ecosystem Management, as well as other related or more specialized courses.Most textbooks on natural resource and ecosystem management are dominated by a steady-state view that interprets change as gradual and incremental and disregards interactions across scales. Management implementation of steady-state theory and policies tends to invest in controlling a few selected ecosystem processes, at the expense of long-term social-ecological resilience - i.e., the capacity of the system to cope with surprise and abrupt changes. Loss of resilience makes systems more vulnerable to both expected and unforeseen changes.Achieving desirable outcomes for humanity, such as those of the UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty, food security, and environmental sustainability, will require new integrated and adaptive approaches to social and economic development, where the complex interconnectedness between humans and nature, at all scales, is considered and the existence of uncertainty and surprise accepted as the rule. The purpose of this textbook is to provide a new framework for resource management - a framework based on the necessity of managing resources in a world dominated by uncertainty and change. The book links recent advances in the theory of resilience, sustainability, and vulnerability with practical issues of resource management."

Conceptual Framework.- A Framework for Understanding Change.- Managing Ecosystems Sustainably: The Key Role of Resilience.- Livelihoods and Human Well-Being during Social-Ecological Change.- Adaptive Co-management in Social-Ecological Governance.- Transformations in Ecosystem Stewardship.- Stewarding Ecosystems for Society.- Conservation, Community, and Livelihoods: Sustaining, Renewing, and Adapting Cultural Connections to the Land.- Forest Systems: Living with Long-Term Change.- Drylands: Coping with Uncertainty, Thresholds, and Changes in State.- Freshwaters: Managing Across Scales in Space and Time.- Oceans and Estuaries: Managing the Commons.- Coastal Marine Systems: Conserving Fish and Sustaining Community Livelihoods with Co-management.- Managing Food Production Systems for Resilience.- Managing Densely Settled Social-Ecological Systems.- The Earth System: Sustaining Planetary Life-Support Systems.- Integration and Synthesis.- Resilience-Based Stewardship: Strategies for Navigating Sustainable Pathways in a Changing World.