6
Barriers to the Use of Ecological
Models in Decision Making
Virginia H. Dale, Chris Rewerts, Webb Van Winkle,
Mark A. Harwell, Mike Vasievich, and Steve Hodapp
109
6.1 Introduction
Situations where the use of ecological models would be appropriate include
the implementation of regulations and plans, formation of regulatory policies and laws, resource management planning, purchase of land and other
private investment decisions, trade policy, environmental security issues,
the NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) process, litigation,
land-use planning, education, and research. In any circumstance where the
issues are complex, influences and flows are unclear, feedbacks occur, or
outcomes are determined by multiple factors, models can be used to provide
clarity and help to discern the role of potential influences.
Although ecological models might be used in many situations to
facilitate decisions being made about resource use, often models are not
used or are used ineffectively. Several barriers exist to the successful
adoption and deployment of ecological models for decision making. These
obstacles can be organized into five generalized categories: communication,
organizational issues, risk aversion, logistical concerns, and the capability
of models themselves. This chapter discusses these types of barriers and
presents conditions under which they might be expected to operate.
Primary questions to resolve in considering impediments to implementation of ecological models are, “Who are the participants?” and “What
are the circumstances in which models are used?” That is, who are the
model developers, who applies the model, and who are the decision
makers? What are the attributes of the problems? At what stages will the
model be used? Who will interpret the model results? Only by knowing
the participants in the model formulation and in the decision-making
process and the dimensions of the problems can one determine the extent
to which the concerns addressed below are actual barriers to the use of
models. Therefore, the roles of the players in the decision-making process
as promoters or impediments to the use of models is discussed. Several
solutions to the obstacles are presented in the following chapters that deal
with the following concerns:
Barriers to the Use of Ecological
Models in Decision Making
Virginia H. Dale, Chris Rewerts, Webb Van Winkle,
Mark A. Harwell, Mike Vasievich, and Steve Hodapp
109
6.1 Introduction
Situations where the use of ecological models would be appropriate include
the implementation of regulations and plans, formation of regulatory policies and laws, resource management planning, purchase of land and other
private investment decisions, trade policy, environmental security issues,
the NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) process, litigation,
land-use planning, education, and research. In any circumstance where the
issues are complex, influences and flows are unclear, feedbacks occur, or
outcomes are determined by multiple factors, models can be used to provide
clarity and help to discern the role of potential influences.
Although ecological models might be used in many situations to
facilitate decisions being made about resource use, often models are not
used or are used ineffectively. Several barriers exist to the successful
adoption and deployment of ecological models for decision making. These
obstacles can be organized into five generalized categories: communication,
organizational issues, risk aversion, logistical concerns, and the capability
of models themselves. This chapter discusses these types of barriers and
presents conditions under which they might be expected to operate.
Primary questions to resolve in considering impediments to implementation of ecological models are, “Who are the participants?” and “What
are the circumstances in which models are used?” That is, who are the
model developers, who applies the model, and who are the decision
makers? What are the attributes of the problems? At what stages will the
model be used? Who will interpret the model results? Only by knowing
the participants in the model formulation and in the decision-making
process and the dimensions of the problems can one determine the extent
to which the concerns addressed below are actual barriers to the use of
models. Therefore, the roles of the players in the decision-making process
as promoters or impediments to the use of models is discussed. Several
solutions to the obstacles are presented in the following chapters that deal
with the following concerns: