THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE PROJECT

ONLINE CONSULTATION

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The Decision to Collect Additional Information

From: Ryan Hill
Affiliation: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Remote Name: ns.biodiv.org
Time: 19:49:28 +0100

Comments

The draft guidance document recognizes that the likely consequences of alternative courses of action and inaction should be examined (point #5). This is certainly an important aspect of decision-making under uncertainty. However, it may be useful to include reference in the document to one particular course of action that is often an option – that is, delaying a decision in order to collect more information. Typically there is a cost to delaying a decision, but there is also often a benefit in that more information can lead to a reduction in uncertainties and allow a more informed decision to be taken. This point relates directly to the discussions in the draft guidance document under point #7 (where it states that decision-making should be based on the best available information), and point #12 (which states that monitoring and efforts to reduce uncertainties should be implemented wherever resources allow). The decision of whether or not to collect more information, both before and after a decision is taken, and exactly what information to collect, should not depend on availability of resources alone. Rather, there should be explicit consideration of the expected value of any additional information. How likely is it that additional information would reduce uncertainties, and how likely is it that additional information would improve the decision? Is the additional information worth the cost of attaining that information and/or the cost of delaying the decision?