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Decision Support System for Environmental
Impact Assessment in the South Pacific
South Pacific Regional Environment Program
(SPREP)
ESSA was contracted by SPREP to demonstrate computerized
environmental assessment (EA) and management tools to officials
and EA practitioners in the South Pacific, and to frame an implementation
strategy. The project team worked closely with EA specialists, engineers,
SPREP officials, and Kiribati Government representatives in Tarawa,
Kiribati to:
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define, engineer, and build a demonstration knowledge
base of regionally specific and relevant environmental and socio-economic
information to support operational application of an existing
computerized expert system; |
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guide potential regional users to run interactive
scenarios and tests on existing projects using the customized
expert system; and |
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conduct a training program for potential users
of the demonstrated system. |
An implementation strategy, including all customization
tasks, testing applications, user feedback, and recommendations
for next steps, was documented in a formal report to SPREP. The
report also included input and recommendations on how to integrate
a customized expert system with existing technology, software tools,
databases, decision-making infrastructures and future initiatives
in the South Pacific. The project succeeded in illustrating the
vast potential of computerized environmental assessment and management
tools in the region, and resulted in letters of recommendation from
Kiribati's Permanent Secretary of Environment and Social Development
and from the Environmental Coordinator.
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