Interdisciplinary research and education for ecosystems management

Contemporary problems in resource and environmental management often cut across disciplinary and other man-made boundaries. Recently several governmental, educational, and research institutions have come up with a variety of organizational plans to address environmental problems that are interdisciplinary in nature. Within the scope of many of these plans, systems analysis has been considered a potential framework in which varied disciplinary efforts can be integrated and unified. This paper discusses the scope and limitation of systems analysis as such an integrative tool. In particular, the roles of objectives, orchestration, synthesis, and implementation in the solution of resource and environmental problems are discussed in detail. Finally, an integrated curriculum for ecosystems management and a set of recommendations to improve the organizational efficiency and the design of interdisciplinary research efforts are also provided.