The Integrated Framework as a Discussion Tool

The process of creating a conceptual model allows decision-makers, stakeholders, or scientists to characterize major stressors, interactions, and tradeoffs related to an issue, or to brainstorm alternative decision options.
The DPSIR Framework provides a scaffold to help guide discussion, and ensure key concepts (e.g. economic drivers, human well-being, decision options) are not overlooked. Questions can be used to guide discussion, stepping through each DPSIR category to elicit information toward building a conceptual model for the given issue under consideration.

Discussion Questions:

• Drivers: What are the key Economic Sectors involved that may be creating pressures on the environment? What are the key Social Drivers, including political or cultural drivers, which may have influence?
• Pressures: What human activities cause Environmental Pressures? What individual Human Behaviors or choices have influence on human condition or quantity of pressures on the environment?
• State: How do activities affect the Environmental State, including the condition of the abiotic, biotic, or built environment? How does environmental degradation or human behavior affect Human State or condition, including individual human health or community-level characteristics?
• Impact: What do humans gain from the environment in the form of Ecosystem Services? What are the consequences of changes in human condition or change in ecosystem services on Human Well-being, including prosperity, safety, and social well-being?
• Trade-off Drivers: What are the costs of loss or benefits of ecosystem services to the economy or society? What are the costs of loss or benefits of human well-being to the economy or society?
• Response: What Responses can be taken to affect drivers, pressures, state, or impact? What actions can be taken to affect drivers, pressures, state, or impact?