Recently, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), "the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization," released its, Ecosystems and Disaster Risk Reduction in the Context of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: A Scoping Study: Report to the Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund (2013). The 50-page publication is available here, as a downloadable pdf. According to the abstract,
[t]his volume focuses on the perceptions of communities on the role of ecosystems for disaster risk reduction, particularly in the context of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan. Key experiences and perspectives of the local communities provide insights on how ecosystems are perceived and how the role of ecosystems during the 3/11 events was perceived. The report also highlights the valuable lessons Japan is learning that can assist other countries to help build resilient communities.
Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report produced by the Committee on Decision Making Under Uncertainty; Board on Population Health and
Public Health Practice; and the Institute of Medicine titled, Environmental Decisions in the Face of Uncertainty (2013). The 258-page report is available free with a one-time registration. According to the abstract,
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of
several federal agencies responsible for protecting Americans against significant
risks to human health and the environment. As part of that mission, EPA
estimates the nature, magnitude, and likelihood of risks to human health and
the environment; identifies the potential regulatory actions that will mitigate
those risks and protect public health1 and the environment; and uses that
information to decide on appropriate regulatory action. Uncertainties, both
qualitative and quantitative, in the data and analyses on which these decisions
are based enter into the process at each step. As a result, the informed
identification and use of the uncertainties inherent in the process is an
essential feature of environmental decision making.
EPA requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convene a
committee to provide guidance to its decision makers and their partners in
states and localities on approaches to managing risk in different contexts when
uncertainty is present. It also sought guidance on how information on
uncertainty should be presented to help risk managers make sound decisions and
to increase transparency in its communications with the public about those
decisions. Given that its charge is not limited to human health risk assessment
and includes broad questions about managing risks and decision making, in this
report the committee examines the analysis of uncertainty in those other areas
in addition to human health risks. Environmental Decisions in the Face of
Uncertainty explains the statement of task and summarizes the findings of the
committee.
