Keywords
model integration, policy support system, use of pss, indicators, linking science to policy relevant information
Start Date
1-7-2004 12:00 AM
Abstract
Policy-makers have the difficult task to intervene in a complex human-natural system. Therefore it is not enough to focus merely on the individual processes affecting a region, rather it is necessary to look at the system as a complex integral whole. Many authors have stressed the importance of integrated assessment and model integration, but only few have proposed concrete solutions for the integration of different sub-models and the use of the resulting integrated models in practice. In this paper an attempt is made to cover both topics by means of an example: the MedAction Policy Support System (PSS). This system, implemented with the GEONAMICA® application framework, incorporates both socioeconomic and physical processes, as well as strong interactions between them. It is intended to be used by technicians supporting policy-makers and planners in the fields of land degradation and desertification, water management and sustainable farming. This paper gives insights into the individual models, the model integration and the translation of model output into policy relevant information, but it also contends that more than the technical and scientific aspects of policy support systems are important for the actual use of such a system. It therefore provides six decisive criteria determining the actual use of PSS by their intended end users and assesses the MedAction PSS accordingly. The paper concludes with some lessons learned during the development and use of the MedAction PSS and similar Decision Support Systems.
Integration of Multi-Scale Dynamic Spatial Models of Socio-Economic and Physical Processes for River Basin Management
Policy-makers have the difficult task to intervene in a complex human-natural system. Therefore it is not enough to focus merely on the individual processes affecting a region, rather it is necessary to look at the system as a complex integral whole. Many authors have stressed the importance of integrated assessment and model integration, but only few have proposed concrete solutions for the integration of different sub-models and the use of the resulting integrated models in practice. In this paper an attempt is made to cover both topics by means of an example: the MedAction Policy Support System (PSS). This system, implemented with the GEONAMICA® application framework, incorporates both socioeconomic and physical processes, as well as strong interactions between them. It is intended to be used by technicians supporting policy-makers and planners in the fields of land degradation and desertification, water management and sustainable farming. This paper gives insights into the individual models, the model integration and the translation of model output into policy relevant information, but it also contends that more than the technical and scientific aspects of policy support systems are important for the actual use of such a system. It therefore provides six decisive criteria determining the actual use of PSS by their intended end users and assesses the MedAction PSS accordingly. The paper concludes with some lessons learned during the development and use of the MedAction PSS and similar Decision Support Systems.
