THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE PROJECT
ONLINE CONSULTATION
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From: Perran Ross
Affiliation: Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida
Remote Name: n128-227-11-96.xlate.ufl.edu
Time: 20:06:34 +0100
Delay may be useful to allow collection of more data, but may also be obstructive deferral of necessary but unpopular action (the sometimes endless call for "more study"). Excessive precaution, motivated by risk aversion can paralyze organizations and agencies, and be manipulated by those with a vested interest in the status quo. Policy makers and conservation practioners are challenged to separate these conflicting pressures. Fortunately the Draft guidelines provide a solution to this dilema in article #11 promoting an Adaptive Management approach to precaution. Adaptive Management allows cautious progress of risky action in a setting of close scrutiny, quantitative monitoring and responsive feedback, that can include quickly reversing direction. The elements of article #4 (Comprehensive assessment of risks) and article #10 (matching level of precaution to the level of risk) further buffer this approach against irreversible or disasterous outcome. So, in addition to the cost benefit assessment proposed by the previous commentator, an assessment of irreversibility of proposed actions will add robustness and confidence to precautious but adaptive responses.
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