Responses are human actions to address specific issues, needs, opportunities, or problems in ecosystem governance and management. They encompass all policies, strategies, measures and interventions that are established to chase ecosystem status and processes directly, and those that modify direct or indirect drivers that shape ecosystem status and processes. The decision making process itself, and the actors involved in it, influence the intervention chosen. The objective of this paper is to identify and define the ingredients of good decision making with regard to choosing responses regarding ecosystem services and human well-being.