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REGIONAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION: EVALUATION OF INTEGRATION METHODS AND ASSESSMENTS RESULTS
Citation:
Smith, E R., L. T. Tran, R. V. O'Neill, AND N. W. Locantore. REGIONAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION: EVALUATION OF INTEGRATION METHODS AND ASSESSMENTS RESULTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-03/082 (NTIS PB2004-104952), 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
Provide regional-scale, spatially explicit information on the extent and distribution of both stressors and sensitive resources.
Develop and evaluate techniques to integrate information on exposure and effects so that relative risk can be assessed and management actions can be prioritized.
Predict consequences of potential environmental changes under alternative future scenarios.
Effectively communicate economic and quality of life trade-offs associated with alternative environmental policies.
Develop techniques to prioritize areas for ecological restoration.
Identify information gaps and recommend actions to improve monitoring and focus research.
There are two task objectives that reflect the work done by LCB in support of the ReVA Program objectives:
Provide information management, spatial analysis support, and data and information accessibility for the ReVA Program
Provide program management support, technology transfer, and outreach.
Description:
This report describes methods for quantitative regional assessment developed by the Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) program. The goal of ReVA is to develop regional-scale assessments of the magnitude, extent, distribution, and uncertainty of current and anticipated environmental vulnerabilities. ReVA:
1. Provides regional data on stressors and sensitive resources.
2. Develops techniques to integrate information on exposure and effects.
3. Evaluates potential environmental changes under alternative future scenarios.
4. Evaluates alternative environmental policies.
5. Develops techniques to prioritize areas for ecological restoration.
6. Identifies information gaps.
These integrated assessments and comparisons provide a framework for assessing relative
risk and prioritizing management actions. For example, areas may be identified and prioritized for ecological restoration. This framework also facilitates communication and dialogue
regarding economic and quality of life trade-offs associated with alternative environmental policies.
To achieve these goals, ReVA has developed a number of integration methods. This report will describe each of the integration methods, their advantages and disadvantages for integrated assessment, and make recommendations for development and application.