Organising evidence for environmental management decisions: a '4S' hierarchy

Lynn V Dicks; Jessica C Walsh; William J Sutherland

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.004

Organising evidence for environmental management decisions: a '4S' hierarchy

Trends Ecol Evol. 2014 Nov;29(11):607-13. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.004. Epub 2014 Oct 1.

Authors

Lynn V Dicks¹, Jessica C Walsh², William J Sutherland²

Affiliations

¹ Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. Electronic address: lvd22@cam.ac.uk.
² Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.

PMID: 25280588
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.004

Abstract

Making decisions informed by the best-available science is an objective for many organisations managing the environment or natural resources. Yet, available science is still not widely used in environmental policy and practice. We describe a '4S' hierarchy for organising relevant science to inform decisions. This hierarchy has already revolutionised clinical practice. It is beginning to emerge for environmental management, although all four levels need substantial development before environmental decision-makers can reliably and efficiently find the evidence they need. We expose common bypass routes that currently lead to poor or biased representation of scientific knowledge. We argue that the least developed level of the hierarchy is that closest to decision-makers, placing synthesised scientific knowledge into environmental decision support systems.

Keywords: environmental decision-making; environmental management; evidence; evidence-based conservation; information; policy; practice.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Choice Behavior
Conservation of Natural Resources / methods*
Decision Making*
Ecology / methods*
Environmental Policy*
Policy Making