Ten common mistakes in designing biodiversity indicators for forest policy

This paper identifies 10 common 'mistakes' in developing and using forest biodiversity indicators from the standpoint of making better forest management choices. The mistakes relate to a failure to clarify the values-basis for indicator selection and a failure to integrate science and values to design indicators that are concise, relevant and meaningful to decision makers. The combined effects of these ten mistakes include inconsistent and indefensible on-ground management strategies and hidden trade-offs at a policy level. They result in frustrated professionals, a confused public, an inability to assess performance with respect to key forest policy objectives and, almost certainly, types and amounts of biodiversity conservation that fail to achieve either scientifically or socially preferred levels. Correcting the mistakes will help to address these problems and, more generally, recognizes the need to better understand the interface between science, public values, and decision making.     

A Framework for Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Water and Watershed Systems

In this article we present a framework for assessing climate change impacts on water and watershed systems to support management decision-making. The framework addresses three issues complicating assessments of climate change impacts—linkages across spatial scales, linkages across temporal scales, and linkages across scientific and management disciplines. A major theme underlying the framework is that, due to current limitations in modeling capabilities, assessing and responding to climate change should be approached from the perspective of risk assessment and management rather than as a prediction problem. The framework is based generally on ecological risk assessment and similar approaches. A second theme underlying the framework is the need for close collaboration among climate scientists, scientists interested in assessing impacts, and resource managers and decision makers. A case study illustrating an application of the framework is also presented that provides a specific, practical example of how the framework was used to assess the impacts of climate change on water quality in a mid-Atlantic, U.S., watershed.     

Science and Decision Making: Water Management and Tree‐Ring Data in the Western United States1

Abstract: Growing populations, limited resources, and sustained drought are placing increased pressure on already over‐allocated water supplies in the western United States, prompting some water managers to seek out and utilize new forms of climate data in their planning efforts. One source of information that is now being considered by water resource management is extended hydrologic records from tree‐ring data. Scientists with the Western Water Assessment (WWA) have been providing reconstructions of streamflow (i.e., paleoclimate data) to water managers in Colorado and other western states (Arizona, New Mexico, and Wyoming), and presenting technical workshops explaining the applications of tree‐ring data for water management for the past eight years. Little is known, however, about what has resulted from these engagements between scientists and water managers. Using in‐depth interviews and a survey questionnaire, we attempt to address this lack of information by examining the outcomes of the interactions between WWA scientists and western water managers to better understand how paleoclimate data has been translated to water resource management. This assessment includes an analysis of what prompts water managers to seek out tree‐ring data, how paleoclimate data are utilized by water managers in both quantitative and qualitative ways, and how tree‐ring data are interpreted in the context of organization mandates and histories. We situate this study within a framework that examines the coproduction of science and policy, where scientists and resource managers collectively define and examine research and planning needs, the activities of which are embedded within wider social and political contexts. These findings have broader applications for understanding science‐policy interactions related to climate and climate change in resource management, and point to the potential benefits of reflexive interactions of scientists and decision makers.     

Communicating About Bioenergy Sustainability

Defining and measuring sustainability of bioenergy systems are difficult because the systems are complex, the science is in early stages of development, and there is a need to generalize what are inherently context-specific enterprises. These challenges, and the fact that decisions are being made now, create a need for improved communications among scientists as well as between scientists and decision makers. In order for scientists to provide information that is useful to decision makers, they need to come to an agreement on how to measure and report potential risks and benefits of diverse energy alternatives in a way that allows decision makers to compare options. Scientists also need to develop approaches that contribute information about problems and opportunities relevant to policy and decision making. The need for clear communication is especially important at this time when there is a plethora of scientific papers and reports and it is difficult for the public or decision makers to assess the merits of each analysis. We propose three communication guidelines for scientists whose work can contribute to decision making: (1) relationships between the question and the analytical approach should be clearly defined and make common sense; (2) the information should be presented in a manner that non-scientists can understand; and (3) the implications of methods, assumptions, and limitations should be clear. The scientists’ job is to analyze information to build a better understanding of environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic aspects of the sustainability of energy alternatives. The scientific process requires transparency, debate, review, and collaboration across disciplines and time. This paper serves as an introduction to the papers in the special issue on “Sustainability of Bioenergy Systems: Cradle to Grave” because scientific communication is essential to developing more sustainable energy systems. Together these four papers provide a framework under which the effects of bioenergy can be assessed and compared to other energy alternatives to foster sustainability.     

Hazardous waste indicators for national decision makers

Indicators and indices are important tools that assist decision makers to formulate and implement plans for management at local, national and international levels. Four indicators for hazardous waste management are described that have recently been adopted within the United Nations framework of Indicators of Sustainable Development. Although these four indicators will be useful tools, the need for a broader range of policy-relevant qualitative and quantitative indicators, proxy indicators and indices is outlined. The argument is advanced that in order for all nations to better manage the range of hazardous waste issues, including waste generation, export/import and disposal, a set of innovative indicators and indices is required. Useful indicators and indices are described that could be used to link and quantify likely environmental, ecosystem and health impacts and risks especially from hazardous waste disposal. Indicators are also suggested that could be used to illustrate the shift in industrial strategy away from end-of-pipe processes towards waste recycling, cleaner production and integrated life-cycle analysis. It was concluded that until the lack of reliable and harmonized data on hazardous waste is addressed, indicator development and use by national and international decision makers cannot readily be implemented.     

Re‐thinking water scarcity: Can science and technology solve the global water crisis?

This paper provides examples from the last fifty years of scientific and technological innovations that provide relatively easy, quick and affordable means of addressing key water management issues. Scientific knowledge and technological innovation can help open up previously closed decision‐making systems. Four of these tools are discussed in this paper: a) the opportunities afforded by virtual water trade; b) the silent revolution for beneficial use of groundwater; c) salt water desalination; and finally, d) the use of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). Together these advances are changing the options available to address water and food security that have been predominant for centuries in the minds of most water decision‐makers.     

Biodiversity and industry ecosystem management

The term biodiversity describes the array of interacting, genetically distinct populations and species in a region, the communities they comprise, and the variety of ecosystems of which they are functioning parts. Ecosystem health, a closely related concept, is described in terms of a process identifying biological indicators, end points, and values. The decline of populations or species, an accelerating trend worldwide, can lead to simplification of ecosystem processes, thus threatening the stability and sustainability of ecosystem services directly relevant to human welfare in the chain of economic and ecological relationships. The challenge of addressing issues of such enormous scope and complexity has highlighted the limitations of ecology-as-science. Additionally, biosphere-scale conflicts seem to lie beyond the scope of conventional economics, leading to differences of opinion about the commodity value of biodiversity and of the services that intact ecosystems provide. In the face of these uncertainties, many scientists and economists have adopted principles that clearly assign burdens of proof to those who would promote the loss of biodiversity and that also establish near-trump (preeminent) status for ecological integrity. Electric utility facilities and operations impact biodiversity whenever construction, operation, or maintenance of generation, delivery, and support facilities alters landscapes and habitats and thereby impacts species. Although industry is accustomed to dealing with broad environmental concerns (such as global warming or acid rain), the biodiversity issue invokes hemisphere-wide, regional, local, and site-specific concerns all at the same time. Industry can proactively address these issues of scope and scale in two main ways: first, by aligning strategically with the broad research agenda put forth by informed scientists and institutions; and second, by supporting focused management processes whose results will contribute incrementally to the broader agenda of rebuilding or maintaining biodiversity.     

A multicriteria model for planning agricultural regions within a context of groundwater rational management

Current international research focuses on topics like sustainable development, regional planning, environmental decision making and implementation, biodiversity conservation plus a number of other relevant issues, especially at times of economic crisis as today. Economic growth and environmental protection can go hand in hand, provided that decision makers develop and use tools and insights targeting in the implementation of successful and robust long term policies. This paper was developed in the framework of a European research project and implements a Multicriteria Mathematical Programming model that optimises the sustainable management of agricultural regions taking in account the available resources (land, labour, capital) and environmental parameters (agrochemicals, water consumption). The model achieves the optimum farm plan in the area combining different criteria to a utility function under a set of constraints and the spatial integration of the vulnerability maps of the regions into the model enables the regional authorities to design policies for the optimal agricultural development and the groundwater protection from the agricultural land uses. Furthermore, the model is used to simulate different scenarios and policies by the local stakeholders, due to changes on different social, economic and environmental parameters. In this way the decision makers can achieve alternative farm plans and agricultural land uses as well as to estimate economic, social and environmental impacts of different policies. The model has been applied to an agricultural region in Northern Greece and proved to be a valuable tool in the implementation of environmental policies and actions, especially in agricultural regions in a delicate balance as the study area.     

An integrated and pragmatic approach: Global plant safety management

The Bhopal disaster in India in 1984 has compelled manufacturing companies to review their operations in order to minimize their risk exposure. Much study has been done on the subject of risk assessment and in refining safety reviews of plant operations. However, little work has been done to address the broader needs of decision makers in the multinational environment. The corporate headquarters of multinational organizations are concerned with identifying vulnerable areas to assure that appropriate risk-minimization measures are in force or will be taken. But the task of screening global business units for safety prowess is complicated and time consuming. This article takes a step towards simplifying this process by presenting the decisional model developed by the authors. Beginning with an overview of key issues affecting global safety management, the focus shifts to the multinational vulnerability model developed by the authors, which reflects an integration of approaches. The article concludes with a discussion of areas for further research. While the global chemical industry and major incidents therein are used for illustration, the procedures and solutions suggested here are applicable to all manufacturing operations.     

Advisory Committee: A Powerful Tool for Helping Decision Makers in Environmental Issues

/ It has been suggested that the general public should be moreinvolved in environmental policy and decision making. It is important forthem to realize that they will have to live with the consequences ofenvironmental policies and decisions. Consequently, policy makers shouldconsider the concerns and opinions of the general public before makingdecisions on environmental issues. This raises questions such as: How can weintegrate the perceptions and reactions of the general population inenvironmental decisions? What kind of public participation should weconsider? In the present study, using a new regional ecosystem model, weattempted to integrate these aspects in its decision making model byincluding the formation of an advisory committee to resolve problems relatedto waste management. The advisory committee requested the activeparticipation of representatives from all levels of the community: economic,municipal, and governmental intervenors; environmental groups; and citizens.Their mandates were to examine different management strategies available inthe region, considering all the interdisciplinary aspects of each strategy,elaborate recommendations concerning the management strategies that are mostsuitable for all, and collaborate in communication of the information to thegeneral population. The results showed that at least in small municipalitiessuch an advisory committee can be a powerful tool in environmental decisionmaking. Conditions required for a successful consultation process, such aseveryday lay language and the presence of a facilitator other than ascientific expert, are discussed.KEY WORDS: Public consultation; Environmental policies;Interdisciplinary aspects; Municipal sewage sludge management; Generalpopulation; Decision-making process     

Informing the development of decision support tools for risk management: the case of electrical and magnetic fields

This paper describes tools developed through a community consultative process to help decision makers manage electrical and magnetic fields (EMF) health risk. The process involved in‐depth interviews with experts (N=12) and focus group discussions with seven different stakeholder groups. The results reveal commonly held intense public concerns about the long‐term health effects of EMF. These concerns were further reinforced by the lack of public trust in both government and industry with regards to EMF risk management. Overall, the participants wanted tools that can be used to manage EMF information, scientific uncertainty about EMF and the complex environment in which EMF issues are embedded. The findings contributed to a mapping out of response formats to address public concerns related to risk, hazard, trust, accountability and fairness across a range of stakeholder groups. These tools and their roles in the management of complex and variable risks, involving new circumstances (e.g. privatization) and information (e.g. new scientific studies) are presented. The importance of recognizing and working with uncertainty through adaptive management strategies, using qualitative approaches, is also discussed.     

Integrated Land and Water Management in the United Kingdom: Narrowing the Implementation Gap

Riparian buffer zones have been incorporated in land and water management policy for England since 1994, when the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food introduced a Water Fringe Option (WFO) as part of a broader habitat conservation scheme. Whilst natural scientists have examined the functioning of riparian buffer zones, understanding of farmers' decision making regarding the adoption or non-adoption of voluntary buffer zone policies is very limited. This paper examines the factors influencing the decision making of farmers who were eligible to join the WFO in three river catchments. Quantitative and qualitative information was collected from farmers using semi-structured interviews and was supplemented with in-depth interviews with representatives of public agencies, agricultural groups and independent experts. Data analysis was completed using the 'Framework' analytical approach and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 8.0 computer software. The research revealed that decisions to participate in the WFO were influenced by a mix of situational, psychological and sociological characteristics, which suggests that policy makers must attach greater importance to implementation conditions and farmers decision making if riparian buffer zones are to play a more prominent role in the management of land and water in rural catchments. Tightly structured schemes will only appeal to a narrow segment of the farming population and will not lead to widespread re-creation of riparian habitats. A more flexible and collaborative style of policy development is needed in order for riparian buffer zone policies to meet the circumstances and needs of the diverse UK farming community.     

Local Institutional Development and Organizational Change for Advancing Sustainable Urban Water Futures

This paper presents the local institutional and organizational development insights from a five-year ongoing interdisciplinary research project focused on advancing the implementation of sustainable urban water management. While it is broadly acknowledged that the inertia associated with administrative systems is possibly the most significant obstacle to advancing sustainable urban water management, contemporary research still largely prioritizes investigations at the technological level. This research is explicitly concerned with critically informing the design of methodologies for mobilizing and overcoming the administrative inertia of traditional urban water management practice. The results of fourteen in-depth case studies of local government organizations across Metropolitan Sydney primarily reveal that (i) the political institutionalization of environmental concern and (ii) the commitment to local leadership and organizational learning are key corporate attributes for enabling sustainable management. A typology of five organizational development phases has been proposed as both a heuristic and capacity benchmarking tool for urban water strategists, policy makers, and decision makers that are focused on improving the level of local implementation of sustainable urban water management activity. While this investigation has focused on local government, these findings do provide guideposts for assessing the development needs of future capacity building programs across a range of different institutional contexts.     

The setting of standards for agricultural nitrogen emissions: a case study of the Delphi technique

The Delphi technique is a means of aggregating the judgement of a panel of experts in order to improve the quality of decision-making. This paper provides a case study of the technique by undertaking a three-round Delphi study to determine a package of best available techniques to reduce nitrogen emissions from a poultry unit under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC). Forms of nitrogen addressed included ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O) nitrogen oxides (NOx), dusts and nitrate (NO3-), with the study providing a means to prioritise the pollution concerns on different spatial scales. The priority pollutant issues were the contribution of NH3 to eutrophication, the global cooling effect of NH4+ aerosol, the role of NH4+ as a vector for atmospheric transport of NOx and SO2, the contribution of N2O to global warming, and NO3- leaching. Reduced nitrogen (NHx) was rated as a priority on all scales, while N2O and NO3- were rated as priorities only on global and local scales, respectively. The study indicated the need for abatement techniques at each stage of poultry rearing and waste management, with particular attention to reduce NH3 emissions, reflecting the priority pollutant concerns. Measures identified by the panel include maintenance of dry litter, low emission removal of litter from housing and storage of litter under cover. Once the litter has left the farm, this should either be used as a biofuel for electricity generation or rapidly incorporated into agricultural soils. The amounts and timing of manure application should be tuned to crop needs. Uncertainties in the Delphi technique limit its suitability as a stand-alone decision making tool. However, the Delphi technique proved useful in identifying priority pollutant issues, areas of agreement, disagreement and where information is lacking. This demonstrates its use when dealing with the complex issues of prioritising pollution issues and abatement approaches.     

Understanding Managers’ Views of Global Environmental Risk

This research investigated managers’ views of two global environmental risks: climate change and loss of biodiversity. The intent was to understand why different managers place varying levels of attention and priority on these issues. The data came from in-depth interviews with 28 senior corporate managers across Canada and a range of sectors, although most were employed in the energy sector. Approximately half had direct environmental responsibilities and half had other management duties. Grounded theory was used to collect and analyze the data. From the results, a theoretical framework was constructed to explain important factors that can influence managers’ mental models of environmental risk. Four factors relevant to managers’ appraisal of the threat of environmental risk include: (1) salience, (2) intrinsic value of nature, (3) knowledge, and (4) perceived resilience of nature. In addition, four factors relevant to managers’ view of the appeal of a particular response strategy were: (1) avoidability, (2) perceived costs and benefits, (3) fairness and equity, and (4) effectiveness. The time horizon for decision making was seen as being important in both portions of the mental model.     

Green design tools for environmental management

Carnegie Mellon University's Green Design Initiative develops tools that environmental managers and decision makers can use to address real-world environmental issues. The initiative focuses on creating tools that are easy to use and that help companies prevent waste and pollution before they start.© 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The Need for Flexibility in Conservation Practices: Exotic Species as an Example

To garner support for biodiversity from the World’s human population, conservation biologists need an open-minded, integrated conservation strategy. We suggest that this strategy should include efforts to (1) preserve existing high quality, diverse ecosystems, (2) remediate impaired systems, (3) balance the needs of people and ecological resources, and (4) engender appreciation of nature and its services. We refer to these four key tenets as reservation, restoration, reconciliation, and reconnection. We illustrate these concepts by presenting the debate surrounding the management of exotic species from an unusual perspective, the benefits of exotic species. By this example we hope to encourage an integrated approach to conservation in which management strategies can be flexible, adjusting to society’s needs and the overall goals of conservation.