Leaders within these agencies will need to find new ways to empower groups to work together. Make policy decisions based on the best science available at the moment. Monitor and reassess policy decisions. Ecosystem management must build on observational, analytical, and experimental science. Policy decisions have little chance of being sustained without a good foundation in science.
Scientific study is needed to define system boundaries and describe a system's functions.
These findings lead to the identification of critical elements for management and control. One risk is that becoming enmeshed in the complexity of ecosystem analysis can become an end in itself, a refuge from confronting tough management choices. There is often a flow of personnel between the scientific and policy communities. The difference between the role of science and the role of policy can get blurred and confused. Because science is so important in understanding a system and the consequences of different actions, scientific arguments often appear to take the place of public policy.