You are here:
Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications
Citation:
Carriger, J., B. Dyson, AND W. Benson. Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, KS, 14(3):381-394, (2018).
Impact/Purpose:
This article explores qualitative influence diagrams for capturing and representing causal knowledge in designing and communicating policy interventions. Useful components and connections among components for qualitative influence diagrams are discussed and developed in case studies pertaining to coastal restoration and protection.
Description:
This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision-making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social–environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the USGulfCoast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making.
