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Discussant: Donald A. Dawson

The paper of El-Shaarawi and Teugels explains the importance of environmental statistics and gives a brief indication of three major problem areas, namely, natural disasters, water quality and climate change. The rising concern worldwide over environmental issues has led to many national and international initiatives to develop the statistical basis on which to identify and quantify risks. As the authors emphasize, environmental issues are inherently complex and interrelated. In order for informed policies to be developed, unbiased and reliable statistical data and modeling is essential. There are three major challenges that must be addressed by statisticians in dealing with any environmental issue: