Cranfield University, Collaborative Centre of Excellence in Understanding and Managing Natural and Environmental Risks, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK.
Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Dec 1;45(23):9857-65. doi: 10.1021/es201145a. Epub 2011 Nov 2.
Policy makers and regulators are charged with the daunting task of comparing incommensurate environmental risks to inform strategic decisions on interventions. Here we present a policy-level framework intended to support strategic decision processes concerning environmental risks within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The framework provides the structure by which risk-based evidence may be collated and by assessing the value of harm expressed by different environmental policy areas against a consistent objective (e.g., sustainable development), we begin to form a basis for relative comparison. This research integrates the prior art, examples of best practice, and intimate end-user input to build a qualitative assessment informed by expert judgment. Supported by contextual narratives, the framework has proven successful in securing organizational support and stimulating debate about proportionate mitigation activity, resource allocation, and shifts in current risk thinking.
政策制定者和监管者肩负着艰巨的任务，需要对不可比的环境风险进行比较，为干预措施的战略决策提供信息。在这里，我们提出了一个政策层面的框架，旨在为环境、食品和农村事务部（Defra）内的环境风险战略决策过程提供支持。该框架提供了一种结构，通过该结构可以整理基于风险的证据，并通过对不同环境政策领域所表达的危害价值进行评估，与一致的目标（例如可持续发展）进行比较，从而开始形成相对比较的基础。这项研究整合了先前的艺术、最佳实践的例子，并吸收了终端用户的投入，通过专家判断构建了一个定性评估。该框架以背景叙述为支撑，已被证明成功地获得了组织支持，并激发了关于适度缓解活动、资源分配和当前风险思维转变的辩论。
