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Applying eco-health science in environmental governance
Citation:
Fulford, R. AND R. DeJesus-Crespo. Applying eco-health science in environmental governance. A Community on Ecosystem Services (ACES) Conference, Jacksonville, FL, December 05 - 09, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation will address how to effectively integrate data on ecosystem-health linkages into structured decision support tools. We intend to foster discussion on the connection between scientific research and ecosystem management.
Description:
Human well-being is inextricably connected to the sustainable use of natural and built resources. The ecosystem goods and services (EGS) concept has become increasingly valuable for identifying and evaluating important trade-offs and by extension has become a central element of decision support for both public and private institutions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has been particularly active in researching methods for incorporation of EGS into decision making to protect human health. Ecosystem services have been linked to human health endpoints (“Eco-Health”) by a variety of studies, but many of these rely on conceptual assumptions without empirical evidence, or present correlations lacking a clear theoretical foundation. To better inform decision making, Eco-Health research may benefit from standard criteria to more clearly link management decisions to health outcomes. The most effective use of the resulting data will be in a decisional framework that effectively operationalizes the science for decision making. Based on examples from EPA research, as well as the literature, we will explore how Eco-Health data can be incorporated into decision frameworks and effectively translated into decision evaluation criteria. The result is a roadmap for use of scientific data in structured decision support that can be applied across a wide array of issues and communities. Decision makers are often challenged to effectively deal with complex decision affecting multiple stakeholder groups and involving significant tradeoffs among decision options? Structured decision support tools offer a lot of promise for filling this need. The goal is translating decisions into changes in EGS and then translating change in EGS into measures of human benefit such as health.