Integrated models for environmental management: Issues of process and design

Integration has become an important element of natural resource management over recent decades, and managers are now required to consider the social, economic, ecological, and bio-physical effects of alternative management in terventions. The problem of managing across many issues is sometimes tackle d by putting together a number of individual models. For this approach to w ork effectively, attention must be paid to both the technical details of th e interactions between system components and also to the processes through which these integrated models are developed. This paper explores technical and social aspects of the development of integrated models for environmenta l management, and discusses two cases within which open modelling and inter face prototyping processes were undertaken. The results of this exploration suggest that, for models to be used and accepted widely in integrated envi ronmental management, developers must undertake a process that involves sta keholders and potential users, that exploits the current knowledge, and tha t illustrates the influence of uncertainty in the technical knowledge. This requires strict attention to the social and technical process of modelling , as well as additional skills in group facilitation and shared vision expl oration, so that user expectations can be developed and met in such a way t hat the best information available is used by decision makers. (C) 1999 Els evier Science Ltd.