A Framework for Assessment of Ecological Risks from Multiple Activities

Abstract

The standard framework for ecological risk assessment does not explicitly address multiple activities. Although this has not prevented its use for assessments of risks from multiple agents, the routine assessment of complex programs or of multiple agents acting on a site, watershed or region would be aided by use of a framework that is designed for that purpose. The framework proposed in this paper is modular with respect to the individual activities which makes the assessment more manageable and more efficient when the same activities are addressed in multiple programs or at multiple sites. It explicitly allows for analysis of indirect effects in terms of causal chains. It includes links to other risk assessments for which changes in ecological conditions are the hazardous agent. For example, changes in ecological condition may create risks to agricultural economies or to the cultural resource values of a site. Finally, the framework includes a standard approach to estimating the combined effects of the multiple agents acting on a receptor.