1. Introduction: The Ongoing Agenda 2. Natural Resources and Management: Emerging Views 3. Social-Ecological Systems 4. Resilience: Health of Social-Ecological Systems 5. Can Commons Be Managed? 6. Co-management: Searching for Multilevel Solutions 7. Coastal Zone: Reconciling Multiple Uses 8. Conserving Biodiversity: MPAs and Stewardship 9. Coastal Livelihoods: Resources and Development 10. Local and Traditional Knowledge: Bridging with Science 11. Social-Ecological System Based Management 12. An Interdisciplinary Science for the Coast Appendix: Annotated Web Links for Further Reading and Exploration

Fikret Berkes is Distinguished Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Canada. His studies on community-based resource management and the use of commons in a number of regions of the world have led to insights regarding the management of coastal and marine resources. Dr. Berkes has authored some 250 peer-reviewed journal papers and chapters and ten books, including Sacred Ecology (Routledge, 2012), Navigating Social-Ecological Systems (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and Managing Small-Scale Fisheries (IDRC, 2001).

Issues of sustainability and increased competition over coastal resources are changing practices of resource management. Societal concerns about environmental degradation and loss of coastal resources have steadily increased, while other issues like food security, biodiversity, and climate change, have emerged. A full set of social, ecological and economic objectives to address these issues are recognized, but there is no agreement on how to implement them. This interdisciplinary and "big picture book" - through a series of vivid case studies from environments throughout the world - suggests how to achieve these new resource management principles in practical, accessible ways.