Project Director: Wei Wu

Funding Organization: National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine: Gulf Research Program

Funding Cycles: Healthy Ecosystems 1

Description: This project proposes to develop a tool which integrates knowledge from both natural and social sciences and quantifies uncertainties to help resource managers in the Gulf of Mexico understand how ecosystems—and the benefits they provide to people—may change as a result of different management decisions (such as developing offshore oil and gas or restoring coastal wetlands). This tool could allow decision makers to evaluate the potential risks and trade-offs that these types of decisions entail in a dynamic system like the Gulf of Mexico. This tool may also be used by policymakers in other regions who want to maximize the benefits that ecosystems provide to people.