The art of environmental risk assessment is an ever-changing field of opportunity and challenge.� There are multiple considerations with every proposed project, and not all projects can be approached in the same way.� Awareness has grown for the need of comprehensive overviews that take all the shareholders interests into consideration before a plan is implemented.� The benefits are obvious: there can be significant savings across the board when holistic (whole system) approaches are utilized in approaching environmental risk assessment.� The reduction of risk to all parties is essential not only in implementing current work strategies, but also future consideration with respect to a site.� The long term benefits of round table strategizing eliminates missed opportunities and offers the chance to better integrate more progressive procedures in a timely manner.
When developing implementation strategies proper communication is critical to establishing shareholder interests. Collaborative networked technologies stand as an effective way of disseminating information to all relevant parties. The Ars Botanica system is structured to facilitate this kind of communication, and act as a vehicle to liaison contractors, consultants and fellow shareholders together into a body capable of realizing effective risk management. Round table discussions can then be held to ascertain that information collected and cataloged is properly evaluated in a clear and open manner. By using these procedures, budgetary and risk concerns can be understood by all parties and the implementation of progressive remediation strategies can occur in areas of greatest need.
This is essentially a system of technologies for information sharing. GIS and other mapping data is associated to localized monitoring information via database-driven technology and tracked continuously to assess and reduce risk. This allows for the generation of coherent model of risk data in a format that is able to be disseminated to all interests. Progressive techniques for identification and monitoring can be developed that were not previously attainable. Lucid long-term analysis of sites can then occur, allowing for reinforcement or adjustment of implemented strategy. All of this is possible through advanced technologies, and Ars Botanica is a system which has been designed with these needs in mind.
Shareholders will receive the windfall of a tremendous amount of risk-reduction. Via systems of information sharing, critical data is readily available and can be modeled visibly in ways that would have been difficult, or unfeasible, in a less-integrated system. There also exists a great deal of flexibility, allowing for the system's monitoring parameters and data models to adapt to provide needed analysis. These adaptations can happen at the level of assessment visualizations or changes to monitor waterways and scenarios other than land stewardships. The system is developed on widely standardized technologies, thus allowing it to be able to scale smoothly with the ever-changing technology on which it runs, removing it from the 'obsolescence curve' which traditionally creates large budgetary concerns.
The Ars Botanica system is one that is poised to effectively handle risk management situations that may have previously gone unapproached due to the overwhelming amount of data to assess. Utilizing whole-systems modeling, any and all available data can be integrated to develop a comprehensive risk assessment strategy for any site. Parties involved in all stages of strategizing and implementation remain unilaterally informed allowing ideas to crystallize in a manner that was not capable in the past.
Stephanie Simmons