Vulnerability
vulnerable: open to attack or damage
Vulnerability is the degree to which a system is likely to
experience harm due to exposure to perturbations or stress. The ReVA
Toolkit helps decision-makers evaluate the vulnerability of
ecological goods and services that are valued by society, using
several types of information such as:
- current resource conditions and distributions;
- estimated sensitivity of resources to the various
stresses;
- estimated spatial distributions of stressors;
- characterizations of potential effects including
synergistic effects; and
- estimates of the resource's value to society.
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This information is obtained through measurements collected by
many agencies and organizations, and through quantitative models
based on those measurements and the best available science. Examples
of some of these information types are provided on the next few
pages. |