Integrated modeling for landscape and watershed management: building multi-jurisdictional capabilities

Abstract

Since policies should reflect societal values and aspirations, decision-making would benefit from tools that allow consideration of all entities that contribute to, or are affected by decisions. At a minimum, policy should include those key economic, social, and environmental activities taking place within a geophysically relevant area. The barriers that impede the development of integrated modeling programs that try to include many of the processes and outcomes of interest in studying a problem represent a series of common challenges associated with most integrative and cross-jurisdictional projects. Although computer-based modeling and scenario tools can inform the decision-making process, the scope of their use will continue to be limited by the existence of administrative, jurisdictional, and epistemological barriers, along with current (and evolving) principles for decision-making (e.g., precautionary principle, adaptive management, robustness, etc). The development of science-based approaches to support decision-making requires the provision of, and access to data and information that enables supports long-term basic and applied research, and the development of new multidisciplinary technologies and tools for forecasting and integrated prediction. What are needed are institutional structures, or forums, to facilitate the necessary exchanges. However, to be effective, any approach used must specifically deal with boundaries between knowledge and action, while also initiating and supporting communication, coordination and mediation across these same boundaries.