Perspective on validating the natural resource damage assessment model system

This paper describes a preliminary effort to validate the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Model for Coastal and Marine Environments (NRDAM/ CME). After describing the general requirements that the model should meet, the problems inherent in validating the NRDAM/CME by a retrospective comparison with the results of field studies are reviewed. Due to these problems, an order-of-magnitude standard of accuracy is argued to be appropriate. Comparisons of the model results with those of selected, field studies suggest that the NRDAM/CME provides reasonable results given this standard. In light of the fact that this preliminary validation effort is based on the use of only readily available information for a few studies, additional efforts are in order to validate the model and refine it, as appropriate.