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. 2024 Feb 20;16(5):1-19.
doi: 10.3390/su16051739.

The EPA Ecosystem Services Tool Selection Portal

Matthew C Harwell  1 , Leah M Sharpe  2 , Kaitlyn Hines  3 , Cody Schumacher  3 , Stephanie Kim  4 , Gina Ferreira  4 , Tammy A Newcomer-Johnson  5
Affiliations

The EPA Ecosystem Services Tool Selection Portal

Matthew C Harwell et al. Sustainability. .

Abstract

The dynamics of an environmental decision-making context can be complicated. The use of decision support tools can help better facilitate restoring and maintaining ecosystems that provide environmental benefits (ecosystem services) to people. Although an ecosystem services assessment tool is designed for specific purposes, having access to a comprehensive suite of tools offers the user additional insight and resources to help in decision making. A range of approaches exist to connect ecosystem services to a given decision context ranging from less to more complex: using the best professional judgment; applying examples from other efforts; testing individual tool applications; and using a systematic, decision-tree approach to navigate among relevant tools and frameworks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed a decision-tree approach for a user to navigate the question of how to choose among a suite of ecosystem services assessment tools for three decision contexts: (1) ecological risk assessments; (2) cleanup of contaminated sites; (3) and generic structured decision-making processes. This tool selection navigator was developed with/for the intended user, including developing crosswalks between tool functionality and the user's language for what they require in a tool. To navigate the tool, the user first chooses one of three decision contexts. Second, the user selects among the different phases of the decision process. Third, the user selects among a few ecosystem-services related tasks relevant to the decision context chosen to identify potential tools. The tool uses simple language to navigate the decision pathways and provides the user with a suite of potential ES resources and tools for their given decision context.

Keywords: contaminated site cleanup; decision support; decision-tree approach; ecological risk assessment; ecosystem services; user-centric design.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Example of the metadata summary table for the Eco-Health Relationship Browser.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Example of matching ES Tools for all relevant ES activities in the ERA step: Planning and Scoping.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Example of matching ES Tools for all relevant ES activities in the Contaminated Site Cleanup step: Remedy Selection.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Example of matching ES Tools for all relevant ES activities in the Other Decision-Making Contexts step: Evaluating Trade-offs and Select.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Case study results for Ecological Risk Assessment.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Case study results for Contaminated Site Cleanup.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Case study results for Other Decision-Making Contexts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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