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Avoid
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Reduces or eliminates event occurrence (likelihood). Removes cause.
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Prevention is better than cure.
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Some events unavoidable or beyond control.
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Mitigate
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Reduces consequence.
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Focus on specific effects. Treat effects of unprevented & unpreventable events.
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Treats symptoms not causes. Effects can be difficult, costly or even impossible to reduce. Usually is residual impact.
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Offset
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Loss of one set of resources is treated by investing in another set preferably similar in nature & extent.
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Can be appropriate when avoidance & mitigation fail. Can rescue resources that otherwise would be lost without the offset intervention.
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Needs economies of scale & costly even non-feasible if replacement resources in many isolated small patches. Original resource is still lost.
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Transfer
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Responsibility for threat control formally passed from one role player to another.
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Enables the role player most exposed to threat, or most liable to cause impact, to undertake control. Clarifies responsibility & helps avoid control 'falling between the cracks'.
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Requires thorough threat identification & prioritization.
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Insure
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Spreads cost consequence of low likelihood threats to other agencies.
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Can be used to fund mitigation, especially big losses to third parties.
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Does not avoid events, important in possible irreversible loss of indispensable natural capital. Might reduce incentive to implement precautionary measures.
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Accept
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Apply no control, usually to low threats.
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Cost-effective. Avoids promising to apply unaffordable control.
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Danger of irresponsible, negligent & uncaring reputation. Requires carefully worked out project appetite for threat.
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Prepare
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Structure organization to be resilient. Readiness for emergencies & capacity to control eventuating accepted threats, & unpreventable & unanticipated events.
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Stay functional, protect people & assets in face of adversity.
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Extra effort and expense in emergency drills, what-if & scenario analyses.
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