Decision making in environmental projects is typically a complex and confusing process characterized by trade-offs between socio-political, environmental, and economic impacts. Comparative Risk Assessment (CRA) is a methodology applied to facilitate decision making when various activities compete for limited resources. CRA has become an increasingly accepted research tool and has helped to characterize environmental profiles and priorities on the regional and national level. CRA may be considered as part of the more general but as yet quite academic field of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Considerable research in the area of MCDA has made available methods for applying scientific decision theoretical approaches to multi-criteria problems, but its applications, especially in environmental areas, are still limited. The papers show that the use of comparative risk assessment can provide the scientific basis for environmentally sound and cost-efficient policies, strategies, and solutions to our environmental challenges.

Wetland and Stream Rapid Assessments: Development, Validation, and Application describes the scientific and environmental policy background for rapid wetland and stream assessments, how such assessment methods are developed and statistically verified, and how they can be used in environmental decision-making—including wetland and stream permitting. In addition, it provides several case studies of method development and use in various parts of the world. Readers will find guidance on developing and testing such methods, along with examples of how these methods have been used in various programs across North America. Rapid wetland and stream functional assessments are becoming frequently used methods in federal, state and local environmental permitting programs in North America. Many governments are interested in developing new methods or improving existing methods for their own jurisdictions. This book provides an ideal guide to these initiatives. Offers guidance for the use and evaluation of rapid assessments to developers and users of these methods, as well as students of wetland and stream quality Contains contributions from sources who are successful in academia, industry and government, bringing credibility and relevance to the content Includes a statistically-based approach to testing the validity of the rapid method, which is very important to the usefulness and defensibility of assessment methods