In a Workshop on the Ecosystem Approach (Lilongwe, Malawi, 26-28 January 1998), whose report was presented at the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Bratislava, Slovakia, 4-15 May 1998, UNEP/CBD/ COP/4/Inf.9), twelve principles/characteristics of the ecosystem approach to biodiversity management were identified:
| (1) | Management objectives are a matter of societal choice. |
| (2) | Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level. |
| (3) | Ecosystem managers should consider the effects of their activities on adjacent and other ecosystems. |
| (4) | Recognizing potential gains from management there is a need to understand the ecosystem in an economic context, considering e.g. mitigating market distortions, aligning incentives to promote sustainable use, and internalizing costs and benefits. |
| (5) | A key feature of the ecosystem approach includes conservation of ecosystem structure and functioning. |
| (6) | Ecosystems must be managed within the limits to their functioning. |
| (7) | The ecosystem approach should be undertaken at the appropriate scale. |
| (8) | Recognizing the varying temporal scales and lag effects which characterize ecosystem processes, objectives for ecosystem management should be set for the long term. |
| (9) | Management must recognize that change is inevitable. |
| (10) | The ecosystem approach should seek the appropriate balance between conservation and use of biodiversity. |
| (11) | The ecosystem approach should consider all forms of relevant information, including scientific and indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices. |
| (12) | The ecosystem approach should involve all relevant sectors of society and scientific disciplines. |
