3.3: Decision Support
To promote better and more widely accepted understanding of the implications of systems science, multi-causality, uncertainty
and the sources of knowledge in order to support timely, participatory, robust and adaptive decision-making.
Other Information:
Analysis - There is growing scientific awareness that environmental, ecological and health issues are more complex, multi-causal
and inter-connected than previously understood. Systems science, non–linear dynamics and threshold phenomena are characteristics
of most environmental and health issues, such as: climate change; the four priority diseases and disorders of the EU Action
Plan on Environment and Health; ecosystems health; and biodiversity loss. Timely responses by governments, and increasingly
by civil society, to perturbations in such complex ecological and biological systems involve taking action on lower strengths
and sometimes different types of evidence, (e.g. indigenous knowledge, relevant knowledge rather than precise data), if the
precautionary prevention of harm is to be achieved. Such decisions need to be taken in light of a broader knowledge base,
in part derived from public participation, supported by increased awareness of the effectiveness and consequences of previous
actions, or inactions, on emerging issues and early warnings. Public and stakeholder participation is also increasingly recognised
as a component of effective decision-making on issues that arise from complex systems such as: river basin management; strategic
impact assessment; climate change adaptation; land management; nature protection; spatial planning: strategic futures development;
the demand-side management of transport, water, energy and resource use; and the lay monitoring of environmental change. Action
- We will achieve our objective by: • developing retrospective analyses of past environmental decision-making (e.g. Late lessons
from early warnings vol. 2) in order to provide a greater knowledge-base from which to identify and implement future policy
actions that are timely, robust and adaptive; • promoting long-term monitoring of surprise‑sensitive parameters so as to better
anticipate perturbations in biological and health systems; • exploring diverse methods for achieving effective public participation
in identifying and managing emerging ecological and health issues; • developing and using decision support tools in key areas,
such as climate change, adaptation, ecosystem valuation and vulnerability assessments; • analysing and helping to harmonise
more transparent approaches to the evaluation of scientific and other forms of knowledge, such as indigenous knowledge, and
to support the wider use of the precautionary principle; • improving and simplifying the terminology used to characterise
cause-effect relationships and uncertainties in ecological and biological systems, by fostering the widespread adoption of
such terminology; • developing with partners a better understanding of the types of jurisprudence that will properly reflect
the needs of the environment; and • improving awareness of these issues via workshops with a broad range of stakeholders.
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