AUENV 421 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ecosystem Model, Adaptive Management, Sociological Perspectives
29 May 2018
School
Course
Professor
Final Exam Paper
AUENV421
1
Mutize Natasha Chido
AUENV421 Final Paper
Dr.Glen Hvenegaard
April 25, 2017
1. It is acknowledged that, today, we face an unprecedented set of problems relating to
environmental destruction, overpopulation, climate change and resource destruction. The
natural resources on this planet, the fisheries, forests and water reserves are already being used
at such a rate that is unsustainable. Renewable resources are also being utilized faster that what
the earth can replenish. These trends are related to the ongoing and accelerating processes of
species extinction and the destruction of natural habitats such as tropical rainforests, wetlands
and rivers. The gradual destrutio of the earths iosphere ad atmosphere along with the
complex web of self-sustenance is most likely to continue imposing pressure on the ecosystem
(Vitousek et al.2017). With the help of natural sciences, physical and life sciences, trends
showing that human activities are responsible for the atmospheric destruction have been
published.
Natural science in combination with the scientific method allows scientists to gather
quantitative and qualitative data on an issue and test it before presenting it to the public. The
scientific approach used in natural sciences reduces uncertainty in both the process and the
results presented. Natural scientist consider several hypotheses until they reach a data
collection that reduces the uncertainty to the point of being able to determine which hypothesis
is valid. Furthermore, the scientific approach considers the cause and effect of a problem as an
absolute. Natural science is useful today because natural science study the foundation of the
environment, from the molecules that make up the environment to the evolutionary
interactions in the ecosystem. By understanding these the roots and interactions that make up
ecosystems, informed decisions will be made on behalf of the environment. Even though natural
science can help sole todas proles, it is not sufficient enough. Often times if not all, natural
science fails to look at the social side of the problem. Many natural scientists focus on collecting
their facts, data and scientifically interpreting it. Social aspects, as the effects on the livelihood
of people economically and socially in the communities, are egleted. Todas proles affect
the human beings and decision made impact the lives of million. Natural sciences alone are
efficient enough and integration should be considered when making informed decisions.
Natural science has generated knowledge that can help make predictions on the health of our
ecosystem and has elevated the world of technology and innovations. Informed decisions can be
made but the criterion that explain the use of the scientific knowledge if not provided. Science
does not indicate what should be done with the knowledge. This is the stage at which
economists, psychologists, environmentalist come in and integrate scientific knowledge data in
their disciplines, Natural sciences alone cannot make informed decision but together with other
disciplines can a sound decision be made or suggested.
The gap between environmental science and better environmental decisions is there because
there is lack of the multidisciplinary approach in the decision making process. Important
variables in decision making, as the people and their sustenance, are sometimes not in
cooperated when making decisions. This has led to policy failures and ineffectiveness. There is a
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Final Exam Paper
AUENV421
2
growing demand for information and sometimes lack of sufficient environmental knowledge can
create those gaps between the science and the decision making process. More investment and
funding towards knowledge and research should be considered. The gap could also be
facilitated by the difference in ideologies that scientist and decision makers when analyzing
information for potential use. To avoid bias scientists are expected to not be influenced by their
persoal feeligs. Iersel, a deisio akers alues reflet their sese of their aspiratios
including goals, objectives and trade-offs. The decision analysis/theory includes models of
beliefs and values and the various to quantify that (Winterfeldt.2017). In order to bridge that
gap between environmental decision and environmental science ways in which the scientific
knowledge can be in-cooperated into beliefs and values should be in-cooperated.
Environmental education, advocacy, leadership, policy making and research are important
actions that if effectively implemented will yield bridge information gap. Environmental
education should be distributed to the world and social media platforms are an excellent way to
reach to a larger demographic. Today, social media has a great influence on the public.
Environmentalists and environmental scientists can share their knowledge and educate policy
makers and voters on issues of concern via these media. This is also great way that
environmental scientists pave their way into the decision-making process. Environmental
scientist can use lobbyist to advocate for issues and for more inclusion in environmental
decision making. Reaching out socially established figures can help influence decision makers.
Environmental scientists can be leaders in their communities. Public speaking and reaching out
to their communities will motivate and encourage people to join and fight for a cause.
Researching hats decision makers value and updates on the current political situation should
be priority for environmental scientists trying to contribute to environmental decisions. Marshal
et al provided greats tip for social scientists who are interested in environmental decision
making. Helpful tips that came from their list include the advantage of having social scientists
familiarize themselves with the decision making process. This can be applied to environmental
scientists as well. Engaging, educating and enabling is great way for environmental scientists to
create a relationship with the public, decision makers. The last piece of advice that was helpful
from the article was the consideration of a broker. Sometimes a messenger can be more
influential that the message. Brokering can be an effective way to help bridge the gap between
environmental scientists and environmental decision.
2. The practice of environmental science involves many characteristics that enable and constrain
society from making effective environmental decision. Some characteristics include consistency,
observability, natural causation, predictability, testability and tentativeness. These
characteristics involve features of uncertainty, abstraction, complexity and objectivity.
Eiroetal siee is a road topi ad thats hat akes it ople. Integration Resource
Maageets goal to ake sure that the environment sustains the economy, people, flora and
fauna whilst meeting sustainable development. A decision cannot be made without considering
the other side and the trade offs implicated. In order to make decisions that satisfy every sector,
input from various disciplines is adopted into environmental science. This does not only resolve
the complexity of integration but also reduces uncertainty. By having professionals from a
specific field contribute to various environmental works it adds credibility to the environmental
science. On various occasions predictability is approached using ecological models. Ecological
models help predict the future impacts of an environmental issue.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
