Human activities on land and in the ocean are changing coastal and marine ecosystems and threatening their ability to provide important benefits to society, such as healthy and abundant seafood, clean beaches, and protection from storms and flooding. Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM) is an innovative management approach to address these challenges. It considers the whole ecosystem, including humans and the environment, rather than managing one issue or resource in isolation. Learn more about EBM.

EBM tools are software or other highly documented methods that can help implement EBM by:

• Providing models of ecosystems or key ecosystem processes.
• Generating scenarios illustrating the consequences of different management decisions on natural resources and the economy.

• Facilitating stakeholder involvement in planning processes.

EBM tools include data collection and management tools; data processing tools; conceptual modeling tools; modeling and analysis tools (such as watershed models, marine ecosystem models, dispersal models, habitat models, socioeconomic models, and model development tools); scenario visualization tools; decision support tools (such as coastal zone management tools, fisheries management tools, conservation and restoration site selection tools, land use planning tools, and hazard assessment and resilience planning tools); project management tools; stakeholder communication and engagement tools; and monitoring and assessment tools. Learn more about different types of EBM tools.  If you are interested in using EBM tools for your work, learn about questions projects should answer as they think about tool use and best practices for using tools.

The EBM Tools Network is an alliance of EBM tool users, providers, and researchers to develop EBM tools and support their use in EBM implementation in coastal and marine environments and the terrestrial environments that affect them (watersheds). Learn more about the EBM Tools Network.