Adaptive and Integrated Water Management: Coping With Complexity and Uncertainty

Abstract

Managing water is like trying to hit a moving target, and adaptive management of water resources is increasingly recognized as an important research field. Many variables impinge on the sociobiophysical water system, and they trigger complex responses due to nonlinear relations and thresholds that may suddenly push the system into another state. Simple (mental or numerical) models are inadequate to predict system response. More refined approaches are required, and adaptive management is one such promising approach.