impacts and to estimate their risk of occurrence is strongly dependent on the availability accuracy reliability and resolution of national data on the distributions of habitats, species and development proposals. The U.S. Nature Conservancy has developed Rapid Ecological Assessment (REA), an integrated methodology to provide the multiple scale, up-to-date information required to guide conservation actions. REA relies on analysis of aerial photography, videography, and satellite image data to identify conservation sites and to direct field sampling and research for cost-effective biological and ecological data acquisitions. Goals The goal of EA is to understand the structure and function of ecosystems in order to develop improved management options. Furthermore, developing models to predict the response of ecosystems to changes contributes to finding a particular management strategy. The results of the EA will be used to suggest possible improvements of the pollutant´s properties to reduce the potential environmental impacts. Typical applications Education Agriculture Geography Engineering Marine research. Ecological assessment in the U.S. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a definition for EA. Ecological assessment is a “qualitative or quantitative assessment of the actual or potential effects of a hazardous waste site on plants and animals other than people and domesticated species”. The methodologies used for EA noted down in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act are only vaguely defined. As a result, assessment methods applied by both consultants and regulatory agencies range from qualitative approaches, such as listings of potential biotic receptors at a contaminated site, to fully quantitative approaches that include detailed exposure estimations, quantitative toxicity comparisons, and supplementary biota sampling to evaluate uptake estimates. See also Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) Sustainable Process Index References Ecology