Work under this topic identifies and provides best practices on how to develop and implement ecosystem-based management across all aquatic ecosystems in order to achieve the EU and international Biodiversity Strategy targets. Initial work builds on the results of the AQUACROSS Assessment Framework to further develop guidance on indicators, tools and methods to assess the link between well-being and human responses for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of ecosystem services. Further work then assesses the impact of management responses using a risk analysis in case studies, followed by a selection of appropriate responses, a more detailed evaluation of management options based on model outputs from work in the forecasting topic and the exploration of financial models to foster innovation uptake. The lessons learned are used to provide insights for the Assessment Framework and policy recommendations.