Assessment of eco-security in the Knowledge Grid e-science environment

Ecological security is an important basis of the entire human security system, the cornerstone for human survival. Knowing the status of ecological security is crucial for making decisions to avoid ecological disaster. Existing research, both the basic research on ecological security mechanism and information service systems, is still primitive in their abilities to resolve eco-security problems. This paper investigates the eco-security impact factors and identifies eco-security types. Taking urban eco-security as an example, we develop an assessment method including the indicator system and assessment model, and construct an integrated assessment framework based on data integrity, security assessment and security management with the support of the Knowledge Grid e-science environment. The proposed assessment framework enables decision makers to better know the status of eco-security in making policies for achieving sustainability. 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.