The use of Hugin® to develop Bayesian networks as an aid to integrated water resource planning☆
Section snippets
Integrated water resource management: essential features
It is now widely recognised that sustainable, equitable and efficient management of water resources, particularly at the catchment scale can best be achieved through an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach (Mariño and Simonavic, 2001). The European Union has adopted the concept as an integral part of their Water Framework Directive (WFD), which came into force in October 2000. The concept has been discussed at length in many publications and a number of definitions are
Stakeholder participation
Stakeholder participation is central to an integrated management approach; the opinions of people affected by decisions have to be taken into account. Without this grass roots involvement, the successful implementation of any strategy faces difficulty for the reason that people may perceive it to be irrelevant.
Bns offer one way to introduce the contribution of stakeholders to the decision making process. Networks provide a framework within which the opinions of stakeholders can be fed. It is
Examples of network development
MERIT is developing networks in four countries; the UK, Demark, Italy and Spain. In each case they are being constructed in consultation with relevant stakeholder groups, using a range of consultation techniques. The issues being addressed vary from country to country.
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UK, Loddon Catchment and Portsmouth area: Two networks are focused on;
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the management of domestic water demand,
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the impact of abstraction from a spring on the bird population of coastal flats.
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Denmark, Havelse Catchment: a network is
Conclusion
The use of Bayesian networks as a focus for stakeholder consultation and as a tool to aid decision makers offers a number of advantages.
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The way in which the network can be built up with the involvement of stakeholder groups and the graphical nature of the presentation makes it a useful tool for decision makers keen to encourage transparency and stakeholder participation in the decision making process. Encouraging stakeholders to contribute to the design and development of the network fosters a
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the European Union for their financial contribution to the MERIT project and in particular Dr. Panos Balabanis who has provided much encouragement and support. Thanks also to our fellow participants from Birmingham, Aalborg, La Mancha and Milan Universities and from GEUS, CESI and the Regione Abruzzo. Without their invaluable contributions this paper would not have been possible. Finally special thanks to all those stakeholders, who have tolerated our consultations with
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This work is being carried out as part of MERIT (Management of the Environment and Resources using Integrated Techniques), an EU Framework V funded project No. EVK1-CT-2000-00085. Web site: http://www.merit-eu.net.