Ecological Benefits Assessment Strategic Plan

The Ecological Benefits Assessment Strategic

Plan was developed to guide future research and institutional actions

for improving ecological benefits assessments conducted by the Agency.

The goal of an ecological benefits assessment is to estimate the

benefits of an environmental policy, and when appropriate, estimate the

value to society in monetary terms. This facilitates comparisons among

policy alternatives to support decision-making. In practice however,

ecological benefits are difficult to evaluate. Several factors

contribute to this challenge, including limited understanding of: (1)

The linkages among policies, stressors, and ecosystem services; (2) the

linkages within and between ecosystems; and (3) the linkages between

ecological and economic systems. EPA developed the Ecological Benefits

Assessment Strategic Plan to improve our understanding of these linkages.

The Ecological Benefits Assessment Strategic Plan was authored by a

cross-Agency workgroup under the general direction of a steering

committee representing offices involved with ecological benefits

assessment.