True water resources management - It's a matter of integration

Abstract

IWRM I n the past, water management was characterised by clearly defined problems that society wanted to be solved. These problems were dealt with in isolation based on scientific concepts and tools mainly concentrated on the supply or resource side. The use side, or rather the human dimension side, was taken into account as an ‘external’ boundary condition. Further, over years in the natural science community a tool typically was understood as a stand-alone computer software product describing mainly one topic, for example groundwater flow. This has led to practitioners developing tools reflective of their training and the challenges posed by modelling particular aspects (silos) of water management. When the need for integrated water management was recognised by practitioners, technological solutions were sought after, and this to the detriment of the water sector.

Authors

Categories