Abstract: Ecosystem approach (EA) was firstly proposed by ecologists in developed countries and then supported by a number of international institutions and NGOs,among which,CBD,IUCN and WWF played important roles.Ecosystem approach is an integrated strategy for the management of land,soil and bio-resources.The application of EA will help to reach a balance between conservation,sustainable use,and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources.Ecosystem approach is a methodology of ecosystem management,focusing on the biological organisms and recognising that human beings,with their cultural diversity,are an integral component of many ecosystems.The decision V/6 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD at its fifth meeting in 2000 concretized the EA in the form of twelve principles and five operational guidelines.Our government has recently made a lot of efforts in ecosystem management at large scale with many important measures and obtained significant achievements,but the potential role of local governments,institutions and individuals has not been fully played.In the attempts of managing a specific ecosystem,there are many successful cases done by our ecologists,for example,the ecological management of Chinese fir plantation forest in central subtropical China.However,the whole ecosystem at national or regional level is confronted with a lot of serious problems,mainly because there is a lack of complete understanding of the significance of ecosystem management and a lack of guidelines or principles from an integrated scientific theory.The introduction and implementation of ecosystem approach will play an important role in improving the ecosystem management in China.

Key words: Ecosystem approach, Ecosystem management, Conservation of biological diversity, Living resources