Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research

Drescher, Michael; Perera, Ajith H.; Johnson, Chris J.; Buse, Lisa J.; Drew, C. Ashton; Burgman, Mark A.

doi:10.1890/es12-00415.1

Cited by 175 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 143 publications

(189 reference statements)

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“…Peer review approaches do not quantitatively address contradicting evidence or differences in expert opinions. Risk assessment for invasive alien species listing has not kept up with recent progress in the field of expert elicitation in support of environmental decision making (Martin et al 2012;Drescher et al 2013;Morgan 2014;Sutherland and Burgman 2015). To overcome this, we suggest a second approach including a method of consensus building (Fig.…”

Section: Recommendations For Improved Risk Assessment Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond protocols: improving the reliability of expert-based risk analysis underpinning invasive species policies

et al. 2017

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Risk assessment tools for listing invasive alien species need to incorporate all available evidence and expertise. Beyond the wealth of protocols developed to date, we argue that the current way of performing risk analysis has several shortcomings. In particular, lack of data on ecological impacts, transparency and repeatability of assessments as well as the incorporation of uncertainty should all be explicitly considered. We recommend improved quality control of risk assessments through formalized peer review with clear feedback between assessors and reviewers.Alternatively, a consensus building process can be applied to better capture opinions of different experts, thereby maximizing the evidential basis. Elaborating on manageability of invasive species is further needed to fully answer all risk analysis requirements. Tackling the issue of invasive species urges better handling of the acquired information on risk and the exploration of improved methods for decision making on biodiversity management. This is crucial for efficient conservation resource allocation and uptake by stakeholders and the public.

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Section: Recommendations For Improved Risk Assessment Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond protocols: improving the reliability of expert-based risk analysis underpinning invasive species policies

et al. 2017

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“…With the emergence of forestry concepts such as ecosystembased management , the production of studies and reports that aim to identify potential ecological or management issues has increased worldwide (Drescher et al 2013). The ecosystem management paradigm emerged about 25 years ago and is characterized, among other things, by being adaptive as well as capable of integrating human values, considering humans to be a part of nature (Grumbine 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though expert knowledge is sometimes considered as a weak source of information, when data necessary to address issues are lacking, as is often the case in natural resources management, the use of expert knowledge can be an efficient and valuable scientific approach (Oliver 2002, Cardinall 2004, Drescher et al 2013. Expert knowledge can be qualitative, quantitative and can complement empirical data Bobeva 2005, Drescher et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of expert knowledge in ecological literature has increased significantly over the last 30 years (Drescher et al 2013). One of the most popular expert-based methods is the face-to-face expert committee meeting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Consultations by committee meetings have some advantages, including direct interaction between participants, which facilitates collaboration. However, one of the important drawbacks associated with this method is that the opinions and ideas of extroverts tend to be favoured over those of more circumspect or introverted participants (Drescher et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Delphi method as an alternative to standard committee meetings to identify ecological issues for forest ecosystem-based management: A case study

Waldron

Lussier

Thiffault

et al. 2016

The Forestry Chronicle

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The face-to-face committee meeting is one of the most common expert consultation methods used in forest management. However, it is also laden with disadvantages, such as potential inequity in its consideration of participant opinion and the time involvement required. This led us to evaluate another expert consultation method, the Delphi method, namely by implementing it to identify ecological issues associated with second-growth boreal forests in eastern Canada. We compared this method to the committee meeting method with regard to the time investment required and the efficiency of the consultations. In all, 21 experts participated in three rounds of our implementation of the Delphi method. Subsequently, we administered an appreciation survey comparing the participants' attitudes vis-à-vis the two methods. These comparisons showed that Delphi was less time-consuming compared to a committee meeting consultation of comparable scope. Participants also considered the Delphi method to be fair and impartial, as all opinions were considered, which is frequently not the case in committee meetings. That said, participants believed that committee meetings allowed for a greater understanding of others' opinions. Overall, the application of the Delphi method was shown to be a promising way of determining forest ecosystem management issues.Keywords: Delphi method, committee meetings, expert panel, forestry, ecosystem-based management, ecological issues determination RÉSUMÉ La rencontre en comité d' experts est une des méthodes de consultation d' experts les plus communes dans le domaine de l'aménagement forestier. Elle comporte cependant certains désavantages comme le risque d'iniquités dans la prise en compte de l' opinion des participants ou les longues périodes de temps requises. C' est ce qui nous a conduits à évaluer une autre méthode de consultation d' experts, la méthode Delphi, notamment pour identifier les enjeux écologiques de l'amé-nagement écosystémique dans les forêts boréales de seconde venue de l' est du Québec (Canada). Dans cet article, nous avons donc comparé cette méthode à celle des rencontres en comité d' experts sur la base du temps requis et de l' efficacité des consultations. Parmi les 30 experts contactés, 21 ont accepté de participer aux trois tours de l' étude Delphi. À la fin du processus, un sondage d'appréciation a permis de comparer la perception des participants sur chacune des deux méthodes. Cette comparaison a démontré que la méthode Delphi prenait moins de temps et qu' elle semblait plus juste et impartiale puisque' elle tenait compte de toutes les opinions, ce qui n' est pas toujours le cas lors des réunions en comité. Cependant, les participants croient que les comités ont l'avantage de permettre une meilleure compréhension de l' opinion des autres. En conclusion, la méthode Delphi offre des possibilités intéressantes pour établir les enjeux écologiques d'amé-nagement forestier écosystémique.

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Testing the effectiveness of the forest integrity assessment: A field‐based tool for estimating the condition of tropical forest

Suggitt

Yeong

Lindhe³

et al. 2021

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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1. Global targets to halt biodiversity losses and mitigate climate change will require protecting rainforest beyond current protected area networks, necessitating responsible forest stewardship from a diverse range of companies, communities and private individuals. Robust assessments of forest condition are critical for successful forest management, but many existing techniques are highly technical, timeconsuming, expensive or require specialist knowledge.2. To make assessment of tropical forests accessible to a wide range of actors, many of whom may be limited by resources or expertise, the High Conservation Value Resource Network (HCVRN), with the SE Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), developed a South East Asian version of the Forest Integrity Assessment (FIA) tool as a rapid (< 1 hour) method of assessing forest condition in the field, where non-experts respond to 50 questions about characteristics of the local environment while walking a site transect. Here, we examined the effectiveness of this survey tool by conducting ∼ 1000 assessments of forest condition at 16 tropical rainforest sites with varying levels of disturbance in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.3. We found good agreement (R-squared range: 0.50-0.78) between FIA survey scores and independent measures of forest condition, including biodiversity, vegetation structure, aboveground carbon and other key metrics of ecosystem function, indicating that the tool performed well. Although there was variation among assessor responses when surveying the same forest sites, assessors were consistent in their ranking of those sites, and prior forest knowledge had a minimal effect on the FIA scores. Revisions or further training for questions where assessors disagree, for example, on the presence of fauna at a site, could improve consistency. 4. We conclude that the FIA survey tool is a robust method of assessing forest condition, providing a rapid and accessible means of forest conservation assessment.The FIA tool could be incorporated into management practices in a wide range of forest conservation schemes, from sustainability standards, to community forestry and restoration initiatives. The tool will enable more organizations and individualsThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research

Cited by 175 publications

References 143 publications

Beyond protocols: improving the reliability of expert-based risk analysis underpinning invasive species policies

Beyond protocols: improving the reliability of expert-based risk analysis underpinning invasive species policies

The Delphi method as an alternative to standard committee meetings to identify ecological issues for forest ecosystem-based management: A case study

Testing the effectiveness of the forest integrity assessment: A field‐based tool for estimating the condition of tropical forest

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