Brian S. McIntosh

From Premise to Practice: a Critical Assessment of Integrated Water Resources Management and Adaptive Management Approaches in the Water Sector

The complexity of natural resource use processes and dynamics is now well accepted and described in theories ranging across the sciences from ecology to economics. Based upon these theories, management frameworks have been developed within the research community to cope with complexity and improve natural resource management outcomes. Two notable frameworks, Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and Adaptive Management (AM) have been developed within the domain of water resource management over the past thirty or so years. Such frameworks provide testable statements about how best to organise knowledge production and use to facilitate the realisation of desirable outcomes including sustainable resource use. However evidence for the success of IWRM and AM is mixed and they have come under criticism recently as failing to provide promised benefits. This paper critically reviews the claims made for IWRM and AM against evidence from their implementation and explores whether or not criticisms are rooted in problems encountered during the translation from research to practice. To achieve this we review the main issues that challenge the implementation of both frameworks. More specifically, we analyse the various definitions and descriptions of IWRM and AM. Our findings suggest that similar issues have affected the lack of success that practitioners have experienced throughout the implementation process for both frameworks. These findings are discussed in the context of the broader societal challenge of effective translation of research into practice, science into policy and ambition into achievement.

Integrated modelling and decision-support tools: a Mediterranean example

A great deal of new knowledge and research material have been generated from research carried out under the auspices of the European Union (EU). However, only a small amount has been made available as practical policy-support tools. In this paper, we describe how EU funded research models and understanding have been integrated into an interactive decision-support system addressing physical, economic and social aspects of land degradation in the Mediterranean. We summarise the 10 constituent models that simulate hydrology, human influences, crops, natural vegetation and climatic conditions. The models operate on very different spatial and temporal scales and utilise different modelling techniques and implementation languages. Many scientific, modelling and technical issues were encountered during the transformation of ‘research’ models into ‘policy’ models. We highlight the differences between each type of model and discuss some of the ontological and technical problems in re-using research models for policy-support, including resolving differences in temporal scale and some of the software engineering aspects of model integration. The involvement of policy-makers, ‘stakeholders’ and other end-users is essential for the specification of relevant decision-making issues and the development of useful interactive support tools. We discuss the problems of identifying both the decision-makers and the issues they perceive as important, their receptivity to such tools, and their roles in the policy-making process. Finally, we note the lessons learned, the resources needed, and the types of end-users, scientists and mediators required to ensure effective communication, technical development and exploitation of spatial modelling tools for integrated environmental decision-making.

A review of the factors which influence the use and usefulness of information systems

The potential usefulness of different kinds of Information System (IS) for environmental management is well recognised. However, concerns have been raised about the translation of this potential into actual use and benefit to policy and planning organisations and outcomes. The aims of this paper are to identify those factors which have been found to influence the use and usefulness of IS and in doing so to provide advice for managing development and implementation processes. There is no body of empirical work on the topic for environmental application. However a substantial literature on non-environmental IS has been developed and is used as source material. A classification of IS life cycle processes is developed and the best, worst and possible predicting factors for each process identified. The best predicting factors for IS usefulness across the life cycle were found to be user participation, user perceptions and intentions, user computer experience, top management support, support and training, external pressure, IS unit professionalism and the availability of external information sources. The state of knowledge about the determinants of IS usefulness is discussed and priorities for future research are identified. The factors identified are then discussed in terms of what they mean for managing IS development and for overcoming concerns about environmental IS development and use.

Tools to think with? Towards understanding the use of computer-based support tools in policy relevant research

As environmental science has broadened to address policy concerns, there has been an effort to transfer the perceived benefits of formal modelling to these new areas through the creation of computer-based support tools. However, a number of poorly addressed issues pose barriers to the uptake of such tools. These issues are discussed to argue that the current support tool research agenda is too focussed on hard, technical concerns and that greater emphasis needs to be given to soft, contextual aspects of design and use. To counter these deficiencies we propose a framework for research based upon the concepts of innovation and receptivity. Three different sources of innovation relevant to support tools and end-user receptivity are identified. We contend that new technologies and new techniques for manipulating them have to be translated into the pre-existing knowledge and working practices of user communities before they can be effectively employed. To illustrate the proposed framework, the paper explores the impact of one innovation source on receptivity within the context of a research project developing and applying support tool technology. The need to better understand the dimensions of innovation and how they relate to the processes that determine user receptivity to support tools is emphasised.

Bridging the gaps between design and use: developing tools to support environmental management and policy

Abstract Integrated assessment models, decision support systems (DSS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are examples of a growing number of computer-based tools designed to provide decision and information support to people engaged in formulating and implementing environmental policy and management. It is recognised that environmental policy and management users are often not as receptive to using such tools as desired but that little research has been done to uncover and understand the reasons. There is a diverse range of environmental decision and information support tools (DISTs) with uses including organisational and participatory decision support, and scientific research. The different uses and users of DISTs each present particular needs and challenges to the tool developers. The lack of appreciation of the needs of end-users by developers has contributed to the lack of success of many DISTs. Therefore it is important to engage users and other stakeholders in the tool development process to help bridge the gap between design and use. Good practice recommendations for developers to involve users include being clear about the purpose of the tool, working collaboratively with other developers and stakeholders, and building social and scientific credibility.

Qualitative modelling with imprecise ecological knowledge: a framework for simulation

Abstract Ecological understanding is often imprecise and heterogeneous; relationships between different quantities and objects may only be expressed in roughly quantitative or even non-quantitative terms. We argue that there is a need for general time-driven simulation modelling systems capable of utilising these types of understanding, using vegetation dynamics as an example. Although work has gone into developing qualitative models in the past, it has not focussed on the needs of time-driven simulation and there is currently no off-the-shelf solution available. This paper presents a categorisation of the types of knowledge that comprise formal models, then uses the categorisation as the basis for exploring and developing a framework for time-driven simulation modelling with imprecise, heterogeneous knowledge. One of the key concepts presented is the explicit separation of all non-quantitative state variable values from their direction and rate of change. From this concept a general computational method is developed for updating non-quantitative state variables in time-driven simulation. First-order logic is advocated as a suitable representational vehicle and a modelling system that implements the proposed framework is briefly presented. We believe that the framework provides a useful step towards increasing the practical utility of available knowledge.

Co)evolutionary approaches to sustainable development

Sustainable development is increasingly seen not simply as a principle, but rather as an open process involving aspects of evolutionary and co-evolutionary change; a process characteristic of many socionatural systems. The implications of an evolutionary perspective for managing social, natural and socio-natural processes are potentially profound and include an improved understanding of interdependent issues such as adaptive capacity, flexibility, social transitions, learning processes or resilience. However, the development of appropriate theory and methods remains immature, and the practical implications for management often unclear. The primary aim of this special issue is therefore to promote critical discussion regarding the present state of (co)evolutionary approaches to sustainable development. In using the parentheses for (co)evolutionary we denote both evolutionary and co-evolutionary processes, even though we understand co-evolutionary interactions (which are at the very heart of this special issue) as a specific kind of evolutionary change. How can (co)evolutionary processes be studied in the context of sustainability? Do (co)evolutionary models provide a useful set of devices for generating additional insight to the definition and achievement of sustainable development? In addressing such questions, this special issue tries to synthesise current thinking in the field and to provide a benchmark in the academic literature for this important, expanding area of sustainability research. In preparation for the special issue we have tried to clarify the very nature of co-evolutionary processes so as to distinguish what we see as a qualitatively different conceptualisation from existing frameworks for understanding, such as complexity theory. Such conceptualisations are driven by fractures in disciplinary boundaries and the increasing understanding of processes driven by non-linear dynamics, qualitative change or disequilibria. Despite the fact that evolutionary principles can be applied across the boundaries of social and ecological systems, we are concerned with ensuring the concepts are not used without proper consideration of their meaning in relation to existing frameworks. We do not wish to stifle debate (quite the opposite) but equally do not wish to see the potential promised by a co-evolutionary problem framing lost through imprecise use of the existing language of co-dynamics, complexity and change. As a framework for thinking, co-evolution promises much for understanding and perhaps even managing sustainable development, all of which could be easily lost in a sea of, often competing, approaches. To assist the process of conceptual clarification we would like to offer two general definitions for evolution and co-evolution that we believe capture the essence of each type of change regardless of application context, although we freely admit that our selection may be both contentious and incomplete:

Organisational drivers for, constraints on and impacts of decision and information support tool use in desertification policy and management

Arguments for the potential benefits that environmental decision and information support tools (DISTs) bring to managing complex environmental issues like desertification are well rehearsed. However our empirical understanding of the reasons why particular DISTs are or are not used by different policy and management organisations, and the impacts they have on the work of those organisations is substantially weaker. Such understanding is needed to determine whether concerns raised in the literature about poor adoption and use of DISTs are correct, to understand why, and to remedy them. This paper presents a thematic analysis of 31 exploratory interviews with representatives of 14 desertification policy and management organisations operating at different scales about their use of DISTs; specifically GIS, remote sensing, simulation models, statistical models and DSS. DISTs of all types were found to be used along with other sources of decision and information support including hard-copy maps, aerial photography, databases, academic literature and local participation. GIS was most widely used, by 9 of the organisations interviewed. From the interview data a generic conceptual model identifying the organisational drivers for, constraints on and impacts of DIST use in desertification policy and management organisations is developed and discussed. Drivers were grouped into those concerned with system attributes (e.g. ease of use, flexibility) and those concerned with how information is used organisationally (e.g. to facilitate communication, assessment of desertification). Barriers including DIST information attributes such as reliability and uncertainty, and additional financial investment arising from training, employment and infrastructure procurement were identified. Impacts were grouped into structural changes, individual work changes and financial investment needs. No systematic variation was evident in the drivers, constraints or impacts of use according to DIST type, although GIS was the most widely used DIST and consequently was associated with a larger number of each. Results are discussed in relation to existing theory and evidence on information system and DSS adoption and use, and found to be in agreement. The paper finishes with a set of recommended improvements to DIST design processes to enhance the uptake of and positive benefits associated with use.

Description, diagnosis, prescription : a critique of the application of co-evolutionary models to natural resource management

To support moves towards more sustainable modes of natural resource management, the research community has been engaged in an evaluation of paradigms, theories and methods which might provide useful and usable insights into such a complex problem set. A particularly influential family of theoretical models concerned with the processes and dynamics of species evolution has been adopted from the fields of biology and ecology. This paper scrutinizes the relevance of biological evolutionary theory to sustainable natural resource management beyond identification of the core analogy, namely that both natural resource management and ecological systems are characterized by multiple interacting elements requiring systemic interpretation. A review of the workings of co-evolutionary theory within its intellectual homeland of biology and ecology leads to a critical evaluation of its use as a descriptive model outside of these domains. Findings from this assessment identify a number of fractures in meaning as the co-evolutionary model is transferred between disciplinary fields, suggesting that the transposition has been conducted without sufficient rigour or consistency. A measured reinterpretation of the applicability of the co-evolutionary model to natural resources management is thereby undertaken. Using water management as a context, the paper posits a series of phenomena which might provide a focus for the application of the co-evolutionary model outside of biology and ecology. In conclusion, the paper argues that the research community needs to move beyond a consideration of the complex implications of co-evolutionary processes to the establishment of a firm, process-based definition of co-evolution as a type of change.

An organisational innovation perspective on change in water and wastewater systems – the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in England and Wales

This paper presents an assessment of how the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is stimulating change in water and wastewater management. The paper aims to provide an organisational innovation contribution towards understanding the processes by which policy and legislation stimulate change in water and wastewater systems. Results were produced by analysing interviews with environmental managers from all water and sewerage companies in England and Wales. Results show that integrated water supply approaches are emerging in response to the WFD, while wastewater approaches are not changing to the same extent. Reasons for this difference are located in a mix of factors including: economic regulation; conflicting national and EU regulations; uncertainty; lock-in to infrastructure; the way in which different WaSCs frame business problems and opportunities, and a lack of technological knowledge. Results are discussed against an international review of water sector change and against government reviews of the water sector economic regulator.