Power of Information at Different Levels: Measuring Human Well-Being for Integrated Ecosystem Management
Presentation Abstract
U.S. federal regulations, such as NEPA and Stevens-Magnuson Act require that regulatory agencies conduct social impact assessment. Yet, it is not clear how social impacts should be measured. More specifically, does it matter at what level is the information collected? Is it appropriate to analyze human well-being and impacts of environmental management at the county or a community level? How can we determine the appropriate scale? This paper addresses the above questions by examining human well-being indicators in coastal areas in Washington State over the last 30 years. Coastal areas are key to the U.S. economic success with more than half of the U.S. GDP being created in coastal areas. Yet, indicators of human well-being need to include more than economic indicators. This study employs the framework defined in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and conceptualizes human well-being in terms of the following elements: health, basic material for a good life, good social relations, security, and freedom of choice and action. These concepts are operationalized using the U.S. census data. When available, the data are disaggregated by race and gender. The paper analyzes the above measures at two levels: county and community. The study includes 12 coastal counties and 335 communities (based on census place). The paper proposes criteria for deciding appropriate level of measurement for each of the above constituent parts of human well-being.
Session Title
Session S-10F: Understanding and Communicating Salish Sea Human Dimensions and Ecological Health
Conference Track
Planning Assessment & Communication
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2-5-2014 1:30 PM
End Date
2-5-2014 3:00 PM
Location
Room 602-603
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Well-being--Washington (State)--Measurement
Geographic Coverage
Washington (State); Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Power of Information at Different Levels: Measuring Human Well-Being for Integrated Ecosystem Management
Room 602-603
U.S. federal regulations, such as NEPA and Stevens-Magnuson Act require that regulatory agencies conduct social impact assessment. Yet, it is not clear how social impacts should be measured. More specifically, does it matter at what level is the information collected? Is it appropriate to analyze human well-being and impacts of environmental management at the county or a community level? How can we determine the appropriate scale? This paper addresses the above questions by examining human well-being indicators in coastal areas in Washington State over the last 30 years. Coastal areas are key to the U.S. economic success with more than half of the U.S. GDP being created in coastal areas. Yet, indicators of human well-being need to include more than economic indicators. This study employs the framework defined in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and conceptualizes human well-being in terms of the following elements: health, basic material for a good life, good social relations, security, and freedom of choice and action. These concepts are operationalized using the U.S. census data. When available, the data are disaggregated by race and gender. The paper analyzes the above measures at two levels: county and community. The study includes 12 coastal counties and 335 communities (based on census place). The paper proposes criteria for deciding appropriate level of measurement for each of the above constituent parts of human well-being.
