The NUSAP Approach to Uncertainty Appraisal and Communication

The knowledge base available for decision-making on contemporary environmental and sustainability issues is often characterised by an imperfect understanding of the complex systems involved. Decisions will need to be made before conclusive scientific evidence is available, while at the same time the potential error costs of wrong decisions can be huge. This societal context of knowledge production and use for decision-making and risk management implies an urgent need for explicit appraisal and consideration of all dimensions of scientific uncertainty (Funtwicz and Ravetz, 1990, 1993; Van der Sluijs, 2002; Van der Sluijs et al., 2008, Saltelli et al., 2013); [see also Chapters 26–28].