Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.
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 US Gulf Coast 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. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:381-394. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
['Carriger|John F|JF|', 'Dyson|Brian E|BE|', 'Benson|William H|WH|']
D000818:Animals D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources D003657:Decision Making D058735:Environmental Policy D005398:Fisheries D060851:Gulf of Mexico D006801:Humans D008962:Models, Theoretical D011640:Public Policy D014481:United States
Causality Influence diagrams Coastal resiliency Evidence-based policy Watershed conservation practices