Kristin den Exter, Alison Specht

Preferred presentation format: Unrefereed Paper

Affiliation(s): School of Environmental Science, Southern Cross University

Title: Ms Kristin den Exter Position: PhD Candidate Organisation: School of Environmental Science, Southern Cross University Contact email: kdenex10@scu.edu.au Contact phone: 0414223139

Keywords: Group model building, stakeholder decision-making, water allocation.

Stakeholder involvement in environmental management in Australia is increasingly participatory. A community-government partnership has been the central focus of the NSW program of water reforms since the inception of the Water Act 2000. Under the Act, it is the joint responsibility of the New South Wales Government and stakeholder-based Water Management Committees to develop Water Sharing Plans. Water Management Committees typically comprise government, environmental and agricultural representatives. This paper describes a System Dynamics group model-building workshop conducted with the Northern Rivers Water Management Committee. A role of the Committee was to determine the allocation of water between the water users and the environment. In order to achieve this goal, the Committee was provided with hydrological model outputs and other data by the NSW Government, however the decision support framework did not allow the incorporation of existing stakeholder knowledge and understanding. A group model-building workshop was convened to redress this problem. Participants found that the group model-building process was inclusive, enabled the exploration of different understanding, and incorporation of different knowledge-bases. Participants also found the approach allowed a holistic view of the water management system to be developed and assisted participants to understand the inherent complexities. Participants also commented that the group model-building experience assisted in a better understanding of the model development process. The models generated from the workshop and the response from participants suggest that there is potential for broader application of System Dynamics group model building to facilitate stakeholder involvement in environmental management policy and decision making.

Key learning points:

System Dynamics group model building is a useful tool for sharing and integrating multiple understandings.

The System Dynamics group model building process assists stakeholders to think holistically about the complex systems they are trying to manage.

System Dynamics group model building has potential to facilitate stakeholder involvement in environmental management policy and decision making.