The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) handles gas as a crucial mechanism to govern the execution of smart contracts and transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Gas is a unit of measurement representing the computational effort required to execute specific operations within the EVM. Each operation, or opcode, in a smart contract consumes a certain amount of gas, and the total gas consumed determines the cost of executing the contract.

Gas serves two fundamental purposes in the Ethereum ecosystem. Firstly, it acts as a protective measure against infinite loops and denial-of-service attacks. By requiring participants to pay for the computational resources they consume, the EVM discourages malicious actors from writing resource-intensive code that could overwhelm the network.

Secondly, gas plays a pivotal role in incentivizing miners to validate transactions and execute smart contracts. When a user initiates a transaction, they attach a gas limit and a gas price. The gas limit indicates the maximum amount of gas they are willing to consume for that operation, while the gas price denotes the fee they are willing to pay per unit of gas. Miners then prioritize transactions based on the gas price offered. The higher the gas price, the more appealing the transaction becomes for miners, as they can earn more rewards for executing it.

In conclusion, gas is a vital component of the Ethereum ecosystem, providing a fair and efficient method to govern computational resources and incentivizing miners to maintain the network's integrity and security. Without gas, the Ethereum network would be vulnerable to abuse and would lack the necessary economic incentives to function optimally.