Environmental Vulnerability Indicators for Environmental Planning and Decision-Making: Guidelines and Applications |
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Authors: | FERDINANDO VILLA HELENA McLEOD |
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Institution: | (1) Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Maryland, Box 38, Solomons, Maryland 20688, USA, US;(2) South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), Suva, Fiji, FJ |
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Abstract: | Environmental decision-making and policy-making at all levels refers necessarily to synthetic, approximate quantification
of environmental properties such as vulnerability, conservation status, and ability to recover after perturbation. Knowledge
of such properties is essential to informed decision-making, but their definition is controversial and their precise characterization
requires investments in research, modeling, and data collection that are only possible in the most developed countries. Environmental
agencies and governments worldwide have increasingly requested numerical quantification or semiquantitative ranking of such
attributes at the ecosystem, landscape, and country level. We do not have a theory to guide their calculation, in general
or specific contexts, particularly with the amount of resources usually available in such cases. As a result, these measures
are often calculated with little scientific justification and high subjectivity, and such doubtful approximations are used
for critical decision-making. This problem applies particularly to countries with weak economies, such as small island states,
where the most precious environmental resources are often concentrated.
This paper discusses frameworks for a “least disappointing,” approximate quantification of environmental vulnerability. After
a review of recent research and recent attempts to quantify environmental vulnerability, we discuss models and theoretical
frameworks for obtaining an approximate, standardizable vulnerability indicator of minimal subjectivity and maximum generality.
We also discuss issues of empirical testing and comparability between indicators developed for different environments. To
assess the state of the art, we describe an independent ongoing project developed in the South Pacific area and aimed to the
comparative evaluation of the vulnerability of arbitrary countries. |
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Keywords: | : Environmental vulnerability Indicators Ecosystem health Small island states |
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