Citation:

Sharpe, L. Collaboration/Co-Production Opportunity: Approaches and Tools to Describe the Benefits Provided by Nature Associated With the Clean Up of Superfund and Other Contaminated Sites. Tribal Science Council, Carlton, MN, July 09 - 11, 2024.

Impact/Purpose:

To begin discussions with Tribal Science Council participants about a potential collaboration/co-production of research opportunity that addresses a gap in ORD’s multi-year investment in translational ecosystem services science for contaminated site cleanups.

Description:

This brief presentation is designed to help begin a conversation with Tribal Science Council members on a potential collaboration/co-production of research opportunity. For several years, EPA researchers have been developing tools and approaches to describe the benefits from nature (or ecosystem services) associated with the clean up of contaminated sites. In order to make these tools as useful and useable as possible, EPA researchers and managers have been collaborating to determine and address program-specific needs. Because Tribal needs, perspectives, and programmatic frameworks are unique, EPA researchers would like to explore whether members of the Tribal Science Council could see value in a similar collaboration. Such a collaboration would require co-creation of its goals, but those goals could include things like: (1) exploring the intersection between western science of ecosystem services and indigenous knowledge; (2) demonstrating EPA tools for characterizing environmental benefits and how they could be used at Superfund sites near tribal lands; (3) discussing how those tools do, don’t, or could fit within various tribal frameworks/processes; or (4) developing a shared vision for how these tools could be useful. This work addresses a gap in ORD’s multi-year investment in translational ecosystem services science for contaminated site cleanups and could be of interest to those involved in or impacted by that work. 

Record Details: