Goal 7: Improve Adaptive Decision Making

Employ adaptive decision-making, especially in light of uncertainties, that support integrated regional water management and flood management system

Objectives

  • Improve and expand monitoring, data management, and analysis
  • Connect decision-making with data and analysis
  • Improve diversity of population involved in decision-making

This objective is proposed to complement the other sustainability objectives that are based primarily on CWP-2009 Objectives and Resource Management Strategies. It deals with measuring whether or not the science and management systems themselves are responsive to existing and changing conditions. It supports the idea that sustainability is a process, as well as the result of a series of conscious actions.

Associated Indicators

Collaboration between Scientists and Policy Makers

Collaboration between scientists and policy makers to understand data and communication needs. Acting together, scientists and policy amkers are more likely to develop decisions that reflect the best information AND the desires and needs of society.

Communication of Uncertainty

Communication of uncertainty, which can come from natural variation, measurement error, and incomplete knowledge of how systems function. It is important for scientists and analysts to communicate this uncertainty so that it becomes useful information in management decision-making and policy formulation.

Data Sharing and Distribution

Data sharing and distribution. When systems are created to facilitate data distribution, they are more likely to be understood and management is more likely to be based upon these data.

Equitable Decision-Making Process

Equitable decision-making process for water management, diversity of participating organizations. A key component to equity and environmental justice is equitable access by all parties to decision-making.

Groundwater Quantity (GRACE)

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) uses a satellite-based method to estimate fluctuations in groundwater in the Earth’s surface. By subtracting the water subcomponents soil moisture, snow-water-equivalent, and surface reservoir storage, the residual GRACE signal can be interpreted to represent basin-wide groundwater changes.

Participation in Local Stewardship

Participation rates in local stewardship by the local stakeholders such as municipalities, indigenous people, irrigation districts, community organizations, watershed associations, conservation groups, and stewardship groups.

Plant Growth Index

The Plant Growth Index (PGI) is a measure of long-term changes in plant community condition, based on satellite measurement of the peak annual Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. You can click on "Map Layers" items to the right of the map view to display them in the map. It is possible to turn on more than one map at a time. See more detail below the map view.

Public support and awareness of water system protection

Public awareness and perceptions of the role water plays in their lives and in the environment can affect how people vote to support candidates, taxes/assessments, and bond issues. It is both important to keep the public informed to support democracy and to track their knowledge and perceptions in order to develop policies and management actions.