Challenges and opportunities from a paradigm shift in groundwater governance

Historically, groundwater policy development and implementation have been guided almost exclusively by expert science and traditional risk analysis. This approach has worked well for environmental problems that are relatively simple and predictable. Unfortunately, many of the environmental problems that are being faced by decision makers are complex. Complex environmental problems are a particular challenge because they are ‘quasi-scientific’, meaning that more than scientific knowledge needs to be considered during problem-solving processes. Groundwater protection is an important example of a complex environmental problem, and current research indicates that a broader and more inclusive risk analysis approach is needed. A key part of this broader approach is the involvement of members of affected communities in order to combine expert science, local knowledge, beliefs and values during problem-solving processes. This has been a challenge for the expert science community. In the context of groundwater protection, a shift is required to a more open and inclusive process of policy development and implementation. This report explores elements of the paradigm shift that appears to be taking place in the development and implementation of groundwater policy. First, criteria that qualify groundwater policy development as a complex environmental problem are presented. Second, concerns with addressing complex environmental problems using the current water management paradigm are discussed. Third, an alternative to the conventional approach—collaborative environmental problem-solving—is explored. Finally, examples are evaluated using key benchmarks for collaborative approaches that provide insight into the status of a paradigm shift regarding complex environmental problems