Decision making, risk assessment, and uncertainty analysis in environmental management

Environmental management involves making decisions that will lead to the solution of environmental restoration and waste management (ER/WM) problems. Not only are ER/WM problems technologically challenging, but they must be dealt with under politically and emotionally charged conditions. Furthermore, these decisions must be made based on less than certain information. Therefore, environmental managers must consider the sources of uncertainty that will impact the results of the decision-making process, treat them in an explicit manner, and assess their impact on the decision. Consequently, the process must be a defensible, objective, and transparent one; otherwise the foundation for solving ER/WM problems will not be sufficiently solid to survive the criticisms that such solutions are likely to be subjected to. The use of risk assessment and decision analysis tools helps the environmental manager achieve this goal. It is also important that these decisions consider the array of risk-related issues associated with ER/WM problems, which include the risk to the health and safety of the public as well as other risks such as economic risk. The solution of ER/WM problems must obtain and maintain a proper balance between all these issues. It is also crucial that the multiple stakeholders having an interest in the solution of ER/WM problems be involved in the decision-making process