DASEES: Decision Analysis for a Sustainable Environment, Economy, and Society
Land and resource use decisions are typically made to increase the economic viability of
an area with little attention to the long term effects on human health and the environment
from the resulting environmental condition after an action is taken. Currently, ecosystem
services in the U.S. are not adequately protected from degradation, and the capacity of
the environment to continually provide them is being reduced as human demand and
expectations for ecosystem goods and services accelerate (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment 2005). Human decisions (e.g., land and resource use decisions made by
individuals, towns, counties, tribes, states, and sometimes multiple states and the
federal government) are negatively affecting the ability of ecosystems to:
• Produce and deliver the quantity and quality of water needed for different
human needs/activities
• Provide healthy, breathable air
• Provide food and fiber for clothing
• Provide erosion and flood protection
• Provide habitat and biodiversity
• Provide aesthetically pleasing landscapes
• Provide a stable climate.
Decision-makers need assistance in coordinating decisions with each other and in
understanding the impacts their decisions have at a systems level, which often does not
coincide with human-made boundaries (e.g., property lines, county lines, city lines, state
lines, etc.). Most individuals and groups who typically make land and resource use
decisions do not realize the need for, or have access to, effective methods and
approaches that would enable them to: (1) understand the underlying context of the
decision, (2) define desired outcomes and measureable objectives, (3) identify options
(responses) for achieving desired outcomes, (4) evaluate options using applicable data
and models, or (5) take action when significant uncertainty exists. A U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency-led team is developing a web-based decision analysis framework,
including methods and approaches, to provide assistance to decision-makers in these
five areas. The framework is called DASEES: Decision Analysis for a Sustainable
Environment, Economy and Society.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-being:
Current State and Trends, Volume 1. Findings of the Conditions and Trends
Working Group of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Island Press,
Washington, DC.
Decision Support Framework (DSF) For
Planning Land and Resource Use to
Sustainably Maintain Healthy Ecosystem
Services and Communities
Presented by Ann Vega
TASK Symposium
Leipzig, Germany
June 2010
1
Outline
I.
Background: Ecosystem Services Research Program
(ESRP)
II. Decision Support Framework (DSF) Team
III. DASEES
1) Understand Context
2) Define Objectives
3) Develop Options
4) Evaluate Options
5) Task Action
2
Background - ESRP
Vision of the Ecosystem Services Research Program:
A comprehensive theory and practice for characterizing,
quantifying, and evaluating ecosystem services, and their
relationship to human well-being is consistently incorporated into
environmental decision making.
Mission of the Ecosystem Services Research Program:
Provide the information and methods needed by decision makers
to assess the benefits of ecosystem goods and services to human
well-being for inclusion in management alternatives.
Program Goal:
3
Transform the way we understand and respond to environmental
issues by making clear the ways in which our management
choices affect the type, quality, quantity, and sustainability of the
goods and services we receive from ecosystems.
Ecosystem Services: clean air & water, food & fiber,
erosion & flood control, habitat & biodiversity,
climate stability, and aesthetic enjoyment
ESRP – Research Strategy
ƒ 5 Place-Based Projects:
• Willamette – mixed ag/forest NW watershed
• Tampa Bay – rapid urbanization (sprawl)
• Future Midwestern Landscapes (FML) – corn ethanol biofuel
• Coastal Carolinas – coastal floodplain development
• Southwest watershed – diminishing water resources
ƒ 2 Ecosystem Specific Studies: Wetlands, Coral Reefs
ƒ 1 Pollutant Specific Study: Nitrogen
ƒ 7 Cross-Program Themes: Mapping, Monitoring, Modeling,
Human Well-Being, Valuation, Outreach and Education,
Decision Support Framework (DSF)
5
Outline
I.
Background: Ecosystem Services Research Program
(ESRP)
II. Decision Support Framework (DSF) Team
III. DASEES
1) Understand Context
2) Define Objectives
3) Develop Options
4) Evaluate Options
5) Task Action
6
The DSF Team Recognizes:
ƒ Most decisions affecting the environment are
made without adequate consideration of
ecosystem services – their importance and value
ƒ Most decision makers do not currently have
access to appropriate methods and information
to support well-informed decisions
7
ƒ Scientific information, generated by EPA and
others, is not always properly focused or
effectively utilized to support environmental
management decisions impacting ecosystem
services
DSF Goal
ƒ The goal of the Decision Support Framework
(DSF) Team is to help provide this assistance
through development, demonstration and
dissemination of effective, user-friendly
methods that enable decision makers to
identify and value:
• the effects of their choices on ecosystem
services; and
• the additional research and data collection
needed to better understand these effects.
8
Decision Makers Need Assistance:
ƒ Incorporating ecosystem services into complex
land and resource use decisions
ƒ Understanding the systems
ƒ Understanding the decision context
ƒ Evaluating multiple options and tradeoffs
ƒ Making decisions with uncertain information
ƒ Addressing value conflicts
ƒ Integrating and coordinating decisions across
various groups, individuals, and physical
boundaries
9
Outline
I.
Background: Ecosystem Services Research Program
(ESRP)
II. Decision Support Framework Team
III. DASEES
1) Understand Context
2) Define Objectives
3) Develop Options
4) Evaluate Options
5) Task Action
10
Initial Prototype for DASEES Website
11
DASEES Step 1 – Understand Context: DPSIR
ƒ DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts,
Responses) – identifies the relevant ecosystem
services given the particular set of Drivers as well as
potential Responses.
ƒ DPSIR keyword database – allows a DSPIR diagram
to be automatically drawn based on an interactive
database query interface.
ƒ Potential Responses – guides the development of
potential Management Options under Step 3.
12
Example
DPSIR
Negative IMPACTS from Current Agricultural
Practices – Guánica Bay Watershed Example
Unsustainable
Farming
14
Leads to sediment
run-off
That damages
off-shore
ecosystems
DASEES Step 1 – Understand Context: SNA
ƒ Stakeholders and Decision-Makers – understand how those
involved view, relate, and share information
ƒ Social Network Analysis (SNA) tool (includes visualization
and analysis) – provides an interface that allows the following
types of information to be entered into a database:
• With whom each communicates
• The frequency with which stakeholders communicate with
other stakeholders
• The types of information each stakeholder receives from
other stakeholders
• The value of information received
ƒ SNA Stakeholder information – used in Step 2 to help Define
Objectives.
Example SNA
15
16
DASEES Step 2 – Define Objectives
ƒ Vision – What are the desired outcomes? What do the
decision makers and stakeholders want/need?
ƒ Identify Objectives – What are specific objectives for
achieving these outcomes?
ƒ Structure Objectives – Which are the fundamental
objectives and which are the means objectives?
ƒ Identify Measures – What are the measures we can
associate with each means objective (e.g., ecosystem
services for ecological based objectives)?
ƒ Prioritize Measures – What measures/objectives are
of most value to the stakeholders and decision makers?
How valuable?
17
DASEES Step 2 – Define Objectives:
Guánica Bay Watershed (GBW) Example
ƒ Vision (desired outcomes)
ƒ Improve viewing of coral reefs
ƒ Improve economic quality of life in GBW
ƒ …
ƒ Objectives
18
ƒ Fundamental: “Maximize” the ecological integrity of
environmental resources
ƒ Means: “Maximize” the integrity of coral reef ecosystem…
ƒ Fundamental: “Maximize” economic benefits
ƒ Means: “Maximize” agricultural net benefits from crop
production…
ƒ …
DASEES Step 2 – Define Objectives:
GBW Example (continued)
ƒ Measures
ƒ Means Objective: Maximize the integrity of coral reef
ecosystem
ƒ Living coral area (m2); …
ƒ Means Objective: Maximize agricultural net benefits from crop
production
ƒ Value of crop production ($) per household; …
ƒ Prioritize Measures
19
Measure
Living coral area (m2)
Value of crop production ($) per household
…
Weight
0.4
0.2
0.4
1.0
DASEES Step 3 – Develop Options
ƒ Options – These are the possible options we want to
evaluate to help us meet our objectives.
ƒ Refine Responses – Responses from DPSIR are
refined into quantifiable “levels.”
• Example: “Increase buffer zones between
agricultural land and surface waters” vs. “Increase
buffer zones by 2 m, 5 m, or 8 m.”
ƒ Combine Responses – Levels of multiple responses
are combined into multiple options.
20
DASEES Step 3 – Develop Options
Responses
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3…
Increase buffer
zones between
Ag land and
surface water
2m
5m
8m
Decrease
nutrient loads
from WWTP
10%
10%
10%
Restore
wetlands
Area X
Area X
Area X
21
DASEES Step 4 – Evaluate Options
ƒ Options Evaluation
• How well do options meet the Objectives identified in
Step 2?
• What are the impacts on ecological, social, and
economic systems (including ecosystem services)?
ƒ Components:
• Expert opinion
• Models
• Data
• Uncertainty
22
DASEES Step 4 – Evaluate Options
23
DASEES Step 5 – Take Action
ƒ Decision Makers – Select Option
ƒ Adaptive Management – Check to make sure action
meets objectives
ƒ Value of Information
ƒ Develop additional responses
ƒ Re-evaluate objectives
ƒ Develop additional options
ƒ Collect more information to reduce uncertainty
24
Questions?
25