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Climate change poses serious challenges to existing ecosystem governance systems due to the emerging issues that it presents. The chapter discusses two main characteristics of ecosystem governance (i.e., adaptive and collaborative) in the context of a changing climate. It examines the issues to be addressed in the review of governance systems such as ecosystem degradation, adaptation to climate change, and institutionalization of governance structures. It reiterates the importance of considering the consequences of climate change to the ecosystem, economy, and human well-being toward better ecosystem governance.

Ecosystem management has emerged as a preferred, and often, mandated approach to managing ecological systems. However, this comes with much debate because of the complexity in its applicability and feasibility due to political, economic, social, cultural, and ecological factors. This chapter outlines the evolving nature of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), and provides an insight on the future direction.

The unsustainable management of ecosystem services often arises as a result of the non-recognition of the multiple benefits or under-valuation of ecosystem services. The chapter looks at economic valuation as an essential tool in ecosystem management decision-making and policy. It discusses the economics of ecosystem services, explains the motivations for economic valuation, describes economic valuation methods, and examines the limitations of economic valuation. It emphasizes that economic valuation can be a powerful and convincing tool for placing ecosystems on the agenda of planners and decision-makers.

Human beings are inseparable from the environment because of their dependence on ecosystems and their services (Schroter, 2009). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) identifies ecosystem services as vital links between humans and ecosystems because these services are essential for human well-being, especially in terms of security, basic materials for a good life, health, good social relations, and freedom of choice and action. Ecosystem services include flows of materials, energy, and information from natural resources that combined with manufactured and human resources contribute to human well-being (Costanza et al., 1997). These include provisioning services (e.g., food, fresh water, wood and fiber, fuel), regulating services (e.g., climate, flood and disease regulation, water purification), supporting services (e.g., nutrient cycling, soil formation, primary production), and cultural services (e.g., aesthetic, spiritual, educational, and recreational value). The regulating services provided by ecosystems, in particular, are critical for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Ecosystems primarily affect both the probability and the severity of events and modulate the effects of extreme events. For example, soils store large amounts of water, facilitate transfer of surface water to groundwater, and prevent or reduce flooding, and natural buffers reduce hazards by absorbing runoff peaks and storm surges.

The Japanese culture has many meanings and proverbs associated with the word “water.” “Water” could mean “clear,” “clean,” “beautiful,” and “life.” Water is valuable to people in that it is used for drinking, cooking, washing, and fishing. On the flip side, water is a cause of disaster. Thus, people use water for survival, as well as fight with water during disasters. Because of the many uses of water, people developed a rule for water utilization. This rule cultivated trust in the community. However, infrastructure development (e.g., water supply system, dikes, and road networks), the promotion of washing machines, and social advancement changed the role of the water area from just a flowing stream, which can be simply likened to a sewer, to an important component of infrastructure.

Mangrove has the potential to adapt climate change threats like sea level rise, extreme high water events, and coastal erosions. The large stretched root systems of the mangrove acts as a natural barrier to catch hold of the run off soil, leading to accretion of coastal areas. Due to human and other natural activities, mangroves in different parts of the world are being degraded. Citing examples from India, this chapter provides ways of unique mangrove comanagement system with the involvement of local communities, NGOs, and local governments.

The chapter tries to trace the development of concept of urban ecosystem as a problem-solving approach for urban problems, including the unwarranted problems caused by climate change. Urban management has increasingly shifted from infrastructure-based to a more regional-based approach. There has been a shift in the domain of urban ecosystem as well, from the established urbanized area to the aggregation of urban and surrounding rural area. Also, urban-rural linkages are given more attention in resource management in urban areas, thereby reducing the overall risk due to climate change. The chapter provides examples and challenges of urban ecosystem management from across the world.