A coupled modeling framework for sustainable watershed management in transboundary river basins
There is a growing recognition among water resource managers that sustainable watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans benefit from the environment, but also incorporate the impact of human actions on the natural system. Coupled natural–human system modeling thro...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-12-01
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Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
Online Access: | https://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/21/6275/2017/hess-21-6275-2017.pdf |
Summary: | There is a growing recognition among water resource managers that sustainable
watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans
benefit from the environment, but also incorporate the impact of human
actions on the natural system. Coupled natural–human system modeling through
explicit modeling of both natural and human behavior can help reveal the
reciprocal interactions and co-evolution of the natural and human systems.
This study develops a spatially scalable, generalized agent-based modeling
(ABM) framework consisting of a process-based semi-distributed hydrologic
model (SWAT) and a decentralized water system model to simulate the impacts
of water resource management decisions that affect the
food–water–energy–environment (FWEE) nexus at a watershed scale. Agents
within a river basin are geographically delineated based on both political
and watershed boundaries and represent key stakeholders of ecosystem
services. Agents decide about the priority across three primary water uses:
food production, hydropower generation and ecosystem health within their
geographical domains. Agents interact with the environment (streamflow)
through the SWAT model and interact with other agents through a parameter
representing willingness to cooperate. The innovative two-way coupling
between the water system model and SWAT enables this framework to fully
explore the feedback of human decisions on the environmental dynamics and
vice versa. To support non-technical stakeholder interactions, a web-based
user interface has been developed that allows for role-play and participatory
modeling. The generalized ABM framework is also tested in two key
transboundary river basins, the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia and the
Niger River basin in West Africa, where water uses for ecosystem health
compete with growing human demands on food and energy resources. We present
modeling results for crop production, energy generation and violation of
eco-hydrological indicators at both the agent and basin-wide levels to shed
light on holistic FWEE management policies in these two basins. |
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ISSN: | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |