| Registro completo |
| Provedor de dados: |
Ecology and Society
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| País: |
Canada
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| Título: |
Communicating Ecological Indicators to Decision Makers and the Public
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| Autores: |
Schiller, Andrew; Clark University; aschille@black.clarku.edu
Hunsaker, Carolyn T; Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service; carolyn.hunsaker/psw_fresno@fs.fed.us
Kane, Michael A; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; mkane1@utk.edu
Wolfe, Amy K; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; ami@ornl.gov
Dale, Virginia H; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; vhd@ornl.gov
Suter, Glenn W; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NCEA; suter.glenn@epamail.epa.gov
Russell, Clifford S; Vanderbilt University; cliff.russell@vanderbilt.edu
Pion, Georgine; Vanderbilt University;
Jensen, Molly H; ;
Konar, Victoria C; ;
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| Data: |
2001-06-29
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| Ano: |
2001
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| Palavras-chave: |
Common language
Communication
Decision making
Ecological indicators
Ecological monitoring
Environmental assessments
Environmental values
Public input
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| Resumo: |
Ecological assessments and monitoring programs often rely on indicators to evaluate environmental conditions. Such indicators are frequently developed by scientists, expressed in technical language, and target aspects of the environment that scientists consider useful. Yet setting environmental policy priorities and making environmental decisions requires both effective communication of environmental information to decision makers and consideration of what members of the public value about ecosystems. However, the complexity of ecological issues, and the ways in which they are often communicated, make it difficult for these parties to fully engage such a dialogue. This paper describes our efforts to develop a process for translating the indicators of regional ecological condition used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency into common language for communication with public and decision-making audiences. A series of small-group sessions revealed that people did not want to know what these indicators measured, or how measurements were performed. Rather, respondents wanted to know what such measurements can tell them about environmental conditions. Most positively received were descriptions of the kinds of information that various combinations of indicators provide about broad ecological conditions. Descriptions that respondents found most appealing contained general reference to both the set of indicators from which the information was drawn and aspects of the environment valued by society to which the information could be applied. These findings can assist with future efforts to communicate scientific information to nontechnical audiences, and to represent societal values in ecological programs by improving scientist-public communication.
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| Tipo: |
Peer-Reviewed Reports
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| Idioma: |
Inglês
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| Identificador: |
vol5/iss1/art19/
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| Editor: |
Resilience Alliance
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| Formato: |
text/html
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| Fonte: |
Ecology and Society; Vol. 5, No. 1 (2001)
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