The key aim of the workshop was to promote an interdisciplinary and multistakeholder dialogue to discuss policy and market-based options to achieve the multiple societal goals involved in managing agricultural ecosystems, in particular with regard to diffuse sources of pollution from agriculture. Ecosystem management needs to take into account the economic, environmental and social dimensions within a well-functioning institutional framework.

The science of ecosystem management in agriculture is generally well understood, yet ecosystems remain under threat. The human and policy elements have proven to be less tractable than the technological one in delivering effective ecosystem management.

The workshop brought together many disciplines and interests, natural scientists, social scientists, economists, farmers, government agencies and community activists to increase understanding of the issues in the broad context of sustainability.

The dialogue enabled the technical, economic and social aspects of ecosystem management to be examined from the perspective of a range of disciplines and interests. It developed within the framework of the 'pressure, state, response' (PSR) model, and case studies (in particular the problem of acid sulfate soils and the way in which policies and voluntary actions by sugar cane growers in Australia are tackling the problem), informed and illuminated the discussion.

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