Uncertainty management in integrated assessment modeling: towards a pluralistic approach

Integrated Assessment (IA) is an evolving research community that aims to address complex societal issues through an interdisciplinary process. The most-widely used method in Integrated Assessment is modeling. The state of the art in Integrated Assessment modeling is described in this paper in terms of history, general features, classes of models, and in terms of the strengths and weaknesses, and the dilemmasand challenges modelers face. One of the key challenges is the issue of uncertainty management. The paper outlines the sources and types of uncertainty modelers are confronted with. It then discusses how uncertainties are currently managed inIntegrated Assessment modeling, on which evaluation it is argued that complementary methods are needed that allow for pluralistic uncertainty management. The paperfinalises with discussing pluralistic concepts and approaches that are currently explored in the IA community and that seem promising in view of the challenge to incorporate explicitly more than one hidden perspective in models.     

区域环境风险评估研究进展

简述了区域环境风险及区域环境风险评估的内涵,以及国内外区域环境风险评估研究发展进程及现状,指出了现阶段区域环境风险评估存在的问题,提出应重点开展区域环境风险发生机理、定量表征区域环境风险方法等研究的展望。     

基于风险评估模型的环境风险地图研究

环境风险地图基于地理信息系统(GIS)对信息和数据的空间分析,通过各种风险评估或预测模型,将评估的结果以空间方式展示出来.由于环境风险地图直观、信息量大的优点,有助于环境风险管理以及突发事件的应急反应和实时决策.对风险地图种类作了概述,总结风险制图中需注意的问题以及国内外风险地图的应用研究以及发展情况.     

An integrated assessment modeling framework for assessing primary and secondary impacts from carbon dioxide stabilization scenarios

As the nations of the world negotiate future controls on greenhouse gas emissions, a critical environmental policy issue becomes understanding the multiple environmental consequences of these controls. Here we describe an integrated assessment model for quantifying multiple environmental impacts of large-scale environmental initiatives and apply this model to climate change mitigation. Our analysis shows that reductions in global warming will be accompanied by reductions in ozone depletion, acid rain and mercury emissions, and desulfurization waste generation. We also conclude that the largest collateral benefits from reducing global climate change may be in the developing world. This result is critical since it is the developing nations who ultimately control the long-term success of any climate stabilization strategy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

INASUD project findings on integrated assessment of climate policies

This communication summarizes the main findings of INASUD, an European-wide research project on integrated assessment of climate policies. The project aimed at improving the framing of climate policy analysis through the parallel use of various existing integrated assessment models. It provides a comprehensive examination of the link between uncertainty regarding damages and inertia in economic systems. Results show that the Kyoto targets and timing are consistent with the precautionary principle but offers little insurance for longer-term climate protection. Flexibility mechanisms offer potentials for cooperation with developing countries, and are necessary to tap the environmental and economic benefits of joint carbon and sulfur emissions abatement.     

Agent-based integrated assessment modelling: the example of climate change

Current approaches to deal with the socio-economic implications of climate change rely heavily on economic models that compare costs and benefits of different measures. We show that the theoretical foundations underpinning current approaches to economic modelling of climate change are inappropriate for the type of questions that are being asked. We argue therefore that another tradition of modelling, social simulation, is more appropriate in dealing with the complex environmental problems we face today.     

Participatory integrated assessment of adaptation to climate change in Alpine tourism and mountain agriculture

Winter tourism and mountain agriculture are the most important economic sectors in a major part of the Swiss Alps. Both are highly sensitive to changing climatic conditions. In the framework of the CLEAR project, results from climate impact research in the field of tourism and agricultural production were used to investigate the perception of climatic change by stakeholders and to assess possible adaptations. We used a participatory integrated assessment (PIA) to involve the knowledge, values and experiences of the various social actors in tourism and agriculture (e.g., skiers, tourism managers, farmers) in the research process. Whereas climate change may have various severe direct impacts on the tourism industry, depending on the region, agricultural production may generally benefit from changed climatic conditions. But because of the dependence of farmers on “off-farm” income, the loss due to declining winter tourism in specific areas may cause more important indirect effects. However, the two sectors may adapt actively by choosing from a variety of strategies, and the loss of income from the tourism industry may support the re-evaluation of the various functions agriculture plays in mountain regions, beyond the production of food. The study demonstrates the suitability of the PIA approach to elucidate the interactions between different stakeholders and their perception of the climate change phenomena. A similar participatory approach could be a useful tool to transfer research results and expert knowledge to the political process addressing adaptations to climate change. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于人体健康风险评估的冶炼行业污染场地风险管理与决策流程

简述了冶炼行业污染场地风险管理和风险评估流程。在借鉴国内外相关经验和教训的基础上,结合我国冶炼行业的特点,提出了基于层次性人体健康风险评估的冶炼行业污染场地风险管理与决策框架体系,利用该框架体系,通过层次性风险评估,可以筛选风险大的场地进行重点监管,并采取有针对性的措施防治污染扩散及消除对人体和生态环境的风险,从而经济有效地实现对冶炼行业污染场地的监管。     

Canadian insights: The challenges of an integrated environmental assessment framework

The paper draws results from a review of literature to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the integrated environmental assessment framework in Canada with respect to the inclusion of health impact assessment. Insights include the legislative nature, rigid structure and priority for the natural environment that may restrict progress and the pool of government agencies that need to be convinced of the benefits of health impact assessment that may provide a strong structure for compliance in the long term.     

A Comparative Study of Risk Appraisal: A New Look at Risk Assessment in Different Countries

This study examines perceived risk data from the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea. These data are then compared with similar results collected from previous studies. Psychometric scaling scores from Burkino Faso (a West African Country), France, Norway, and Hungary have been analyzed and compared with results from our study. The data reveal certain risk events like nuclear weapons, war, and AIDS to have high perceived risks in all countries. These data also show that many of the events have dissimilar perceived risks in different countries. The conclusions also show some countries have higher over all levels of perceive risk (South Korea) while others like the United States display generally lower values.     

Integrated environmental assessment methods: Evolution and applications

The central objectives of the European Forum on Integrated Environmental Assessment (EFIEA) include improving the scientific quality of Integrated Environmental Assessments (IEA) as well as strengthening the interactions between science and policy making in environmental matters. This paper is intended to provide a concise assessment of the evolution of IEA methods and present it as a background to current thinking on and practice in IEA. Historical roots of IEA concepts and applications are explored. Common elements and distinctive features in recent proposals to define IEA are sorted and a liberal definition is proposed for the purposes of the present methodological study. This definition emphasizes the interdisciplinary character and environmental policy orientation of IEAs. Changes in the nature, social perception, and management of environmental problems are identified as the major factors driving methodological development in IEAs. A simple scheme is proposed to arrange the main elements of IEA: disciplinary tools, integration tools, and assessment frameworks. The role of IEAs in environmental management is examined by adopting the concept of risk management functions. Due to the varying needs for interdisciplinary research and diverging degrees of policy involvement across those functions, the potential contribution of IEAs to activities belonging to different functions also varies. The flexibility and diversity of IEAs are demonstrated by a sampler of frameworks that have been developed to address profoundly different problems and audiences. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

我国环境健康风险评估制度建设思路与建议

简述了环境健康风险评估制度内涵,分析了我国环境健康风险评估制度建设存在的关键问题,提出我国环境健康风险评估制度建设的思路与具体建议,包括以法律和政策制定为抓手开展顶层设计,从机构设置、技术研发、构建标准规范体系和开发系统性的数据库与模型工具等方面提升风险评估能力,强化环境健康风险评估结果在生态环境与健康管理中的应用,为我国环境健康风险评估制度建设提供参考。     

Indices for assessment and monitoring of large mammals within an adaptive management framework

Many development projects intended to exploit natural resourcesare occurring in fragile ecosystems, and therefore the need forsound biodiversity assessment and monitoring programs is growing.Large mammals are important components of these fragile ecosystems, yet there are few strategies that attempt to assess and monitor entire large mammal communities in relation to development projects. We propose the use of two indices applied within a framework of adaptive management. An occurrence indexassesses the composition and distribution of large mammals at a site, and an abundance index monitors the abundance of large mammals over time in relation to development. We discuss the design, applicability and effectiveness of these indices based onour experience with a natural gas development project in the Amazon forests of southeastern Peru.     

growing pains: a conceptual framework for considering integrated assessments

Policy concerns related to the environment have grown in the past decadesfrom relatively local and well-defined problems to increasingly complex andglobal issues. With this has grown the need to develop the capacity tointegrate, reconcile, organize, and communicate knowledge across scientificdisciplines, as well as to make this knowledge available and useful for policy-makers. One response to this has been the growing field ofIntegrated Assessment (IA). Our goal in this paper is to reflect on the purpose and valueof IA in principle. We propose a conceptual framework within whichindividual IA studies, and the practice of IA as a whole, can be placed andevaluated. The framework addresses both the integrative nature of IAs andtheir policy usefulness, including a self-awareness of their role and capabilities. We illustrate several stages in the evolution of integrated assessments: fromlinear to more complex chains of analysis, from non-adaptive to perfectly-adaptive to realistically-adaptive agents, from simplistic to sophisticated to pluralistic consideration of alternative underlying development paths, from strictly quantitative to quantitative and qualitative analyses, from science-driven to policy-driven, and from analyses that dictate to users to those that involvethose users in the actual assessment process. By so doing, we argue for botha richer form and process of IA. Ultimately, we feel that it may also benecessary to reconsider the framing of the questions that IAs have been askedto address, perhaps leading to the consideration of the use of other forms of mandated science.     

An Overview of EPA's Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) Program

Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) is an approach to place-based ecological risk assessment that is currently under development by EPA's Office of Research and Development. The pilot assessment will be done for the mid-Atlantic region and builds on data collected for the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. ReVA is being developed to identify those ecosystems most vulnerable to being lost or degraded in the next 5 to 50 years and to elucidate which stressors cause the greatest risk to ecosystem goods and services. The goal here is not exact predictions, but an early warning system to identify and prioritize the undesirable environmental changes we should expect over the next few decades. As such, ReVA represents a new risk paradigm for EPA that will require innovative approaches to combine existing knowledge, focus new research, and synthesize many types of information into a meaningful assessment designed to inform environmental decision-makers about future environmental risk.     

中国环境风险评价体系的完善:来自美国的经验和启示

分析总结了美国在比较风险评价研究、环境风险评价指南、环境风险评价过程中的不确定性分析和风险交流等方面的经验,并结合我国环境风险评价现状和存在问题,提出,开展比较风险评价研究,完善环境风险评价指南体系,减小环境风险评价的不确定性和建立有效可行的环境风险交流体系的建议,从而完善我国环境风险评价体系,提高环境风险评价结果的真实性和可靠性。     

生态风险评价研究进展综述

在介绍生态风险评价意义的基础上,简要回顾了国外生态风险评价研究的发展历程,着重论述了现阶段国内生态风险评价的重点研究领域,包括生态风险评价指标体系建立与评价标准确定的探讨、水环境化学生态风险评价、区域生态风险评价、景观生态风险评价、流域生态风险评价,以及"3S"技术在生态风险评价中的应用。归纳了生态风险评价的方法学和评价模型的选择等重要技术手段,并针对目前存在的问题及薄弱环节,提出了未来研究的发展趋势和需要解决的关键问题。     

氯胺酮对水生生物的毒性效应及生态风险评估

通过检索在国内外期刊发表的文献中关于我国河流、湖泊中氯胺酮(KET)的数据,评估其在地表水中的暴露水平,利用风险商（RQ）初步分析KET在我国部分地表水环境中的生态风险。结果表明,我国地表水中KET的检出率为20%~100%,最高检出值为420 ng/L,基于发育、繁殖和行为等慢性毒性数据推导出的预测无效应浓度（PNEC）为1.36×10^-6mg/L;基于慢性毒性计算的风险商值为0.03~36.76,表明我国地表水中KET存在风险,其中台湾淡水河、金梅河和广东珠江具有高风险,而北方大部分河流潜在风险较低。     

土壤/沉积物生态风险评价方法技术研究进展

在我国,生态风险评价受到越来越多的重视,而有关方法的探讨还很欠缺.本文详细介绍了灾害商法、酸性挥发性硫化物、生物-土壤/沉积物-累计-因数法、风险评估编码、潜在生态风险指数法等生态风险评价的方法和技术,并讨论了生态风险评价模型.     

污染场地环境风险评价中可接受风险水平探讨

简述了可接受风险水平的内涵及其发展历程,介绍了国外污染场地环境风险评价中可接受风险水平的选取。提出我国污染场地风险评价和修复治理应合理选取风险可接受水平数值,梳理现有修复治理工程修复目标值的制定过程,建立差异化的可接受风险水平标准体系。