Prioritizing management resources

Both human communities and ecological systems can be stressed as a consequence of our actions. For example, poorly planned economic development can expose us to pollution, pests, and diseases. A healthy, resilient ecological system or human community can absorb a lot of stress and continue to function fairly normally. However, an ecological system or human community which has already been stressed by past events will be more vulnerable to future disturbances. For example, a wetland that is already stressed from a drought will have a harder time surviving an influx of toxic chemicals introduced by upstream agricultural activities. A forest that has been damaged by acid rain will have difficulty recovering from overuse by humans and overbrowsing by deer. A child who has been exposed to pesticides or other toxic chemicals in their home will be more susceptible to health problems caused by poor air quality.

There are so many problems, and so little time, money, or staff available to deal with them. If we are to make real progress in addressing these problems, we need to make efficient use of our limited management resources. We need a way to prioritize among competing problems in order to get a good return on our management investments. Environmental vulnerability assessment is a promising approach to prioritization.

Different stresses have different impacts on the vulnerability of a region's watersheds to radical change. These impacts can be identified using different assessment strategies. Examples of maps showing the results of several strategies can be viewed by selecting from the list below.