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Resource allocation for efficient environmental management
Author(s) -
McCarthy Michael A.,
Thompson Colin J.,
Hauser Cindy,
Burgman Mark A.,
Possingham Hugh P.,
Moir Melinda L.,
Tiensin Thanawat,
Gilbert Marius
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01522.x
Subject(s) - environmental resource management , business , biodiversity , resource management (computing) , resource allocation , resource (disambiguation) , biodiversity conservation , greenhouse gas , environmental planning , environmental economics , ecology , economics , geography , computer science , biology , market economy , computer network
Ecology Letters (2010) Abstract Environmental managers must decide how to invest available resources. Researchers have previously determined how to allocate conservation resources among regions, design nature reserves, allocate funding to species conservation programs, design biodiversity surveys and monitoring programs, manage species and invest in greenhouse gas mitigation schemes. However, these issues have not been addressed with a unified theory. Furthermore, uncertainty is prevalent in environmental management, and needs to be considered to manage risks. We present a theory for optimal environmental management, synthesizing previous approaches to the topic and incorporating uncertainty. We show that the theory solves a diverse range of important problems of resource allocation, including distributing conservation resources among the world’s biodiversity hotspots; surveillance to detect the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in Thailand; and choosing survey methods for the insect order Hemiptera. Environmental management decisions are similar to decisions about financial investments, with trade‐offs between risk and reward.