Third, the integration of socio-economic and ecological policy
goals is a necessity for EBM. This is challenging when environmental
decision making encounters diffuse responsibilities and
impacts, but also lack of clarities about what and who the victims
are (van den Hove, 2000). For instance, who is directly responsible
for marine biodiversity and future generations? And, what are the
exact future consequences of acidification of the sea, and what are
the ecological, economic and social consequences in, for instance,
70 years from now? Also with complex marine ecosystems, EBM
depends on legal, social, organisational, political and technological
constraints and capacities, which may or may not succeed in
providing the feasibility and desirability of certain solutions to
realise, for example, increased biodiversity (Levin and Lubchenco,
2008). To realise sustainable marine systems and to implement
EBM across ethical, conservational, environmental and livelihood
dimensions, relevant levels (regional, national and international)
and time horizons have to be taken into consideration when integrating
the diversity of relevant policy goals in specific contexts.