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Adaptive resource management and the value of information

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  • Williams, Byron K.
  • Eaton, Mitchell J.
  • Breininger, David R.

Abstract

The value of information is a general and broadly applicable concept that has been used for several decades to aid in making decisions in the face of uncertainty. Yet there are relatively few examples of its use in ecology and natural resources management, and almost none that are framed in terms of the future impacts of management decisions. In this paper we discuss the value of information in a context of adaptive management, in which actions are taken sequentially over a timeframe and both future resource conditions and residual uncertainties about resource responses are taken into account. Our objective is to derive the value of reducing or eliminating uncertainty in adaptive decision making. We describe several measures of the value of information, with each based on management objectives that are appropriate for adaptive management. We highlight some mathematical properties of these measures, discuss their geometries, and illustrate them with an example in natural resources management. Accounting for the value of information can help to inform decisions about whether and how much to monitor resource conditions through time.

Suggested Citation

  • Williams, Byron K. & Eaton, Mitchell J. & Breininger, David R., 2011. "Adaptive resource management and the value of information," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(18), pages 3429-3436.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:222:y:2011:i:18:p:3429-3436
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2011.07.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Williams, Byron K., 2007. "Optimal management of non-Markovian biological populations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 200(1), pages 234-242.
    2. Fumie Yokota & Kimberly M. Thompson, 2004. "Value of Information Literature Analysis: A Review of Applications in Health Risk Management," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 24(3), pages 287-298, June.
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    4. Karnon, Jonathan, 2002. "Planning the efficient allocation of research funds: an adapted application of a non-parametric Bayesian value of information analysis," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 329-347, September.
    5. Philippe Bontems & Alban Thomas, 2000. "Information Value and Risk Premium in Agricultural Production: The Case of Split Nitrogen Application for Corn," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 82(1), pages 59-70.
    6. Williams, Byron K., 2009. "Markov decision processes in natural resources management: Observability and uncertainty," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 220(6), pages 830-840.
    7. Bas Groot Koerkamp & M. G. Myriam Hunink & Theo Stijnen & Milton C. Weinstein, 2006. "Identifying key parameters in cost‐effectiveness analysis using value of information: a comparison of methods," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(4), pages 383-392, April.
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    Cited by:

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    9. Johnson, Fred A. & Jensen, Gitte H. & Madsen, Jesper & Williams, Byron K., 2014. "Uncertainty, robustness, and the value of information in managing an expanding Arctic goose population," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 273(C), pages 186-199.
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