Resource Management, Decision Models in

There are a wide variety of natural resource management issues that are addressed using a suite of different management tools. Primary among these are decision models. Natural resource management problems include developing structures and procedures to provide reliable water supply for domestic and industrial use, irrigation, recreation, and flood control; ensuring that productive wetlands are preserved and maintained; providing conservation lands to ensure maintenance of biodiversity; managing air and water quality; and fisheries management, among many others. A wide variety of decision models are also available to address these issues, ranging from simple sequential pairwise comparisons of options to more sophisticated models requiring vast amounts of data and computing power. Decision models help generate plausible alternatives for action and help choose among these alternatives. There ...