Doctoral Dissertation Research: Participation in Water Management-Conflicting Objectives in the Era of Integrated Water Resource Management.

一般观众摘要拟议的论文研究项目将研究巴西圣保罗大都市区的水管理问题，该地区目前正面临历史性的干旱，使公众和行业面临巨大的缺水风险。迫在眉睫的水危机使供水系统的可靠性受到质疑，这个问题并不是圣保罗独有的；它提出了一个问题，即如何鼓励适应能力和强大的机构，以便能够在面对日益严重的环境挑战时进行治理。这项工作将在水流域一级与当地大学、水务公司、联邦和州机构以及水流域委员会合作进行，以使利益攸关方参与协作建模过程。案例研究的核心问题是模型如何支持决策，科学知识如何融入政策，以及有意义的参与如何加强建模、决策和机构建设过程。该项目的成果将阐明快速发展的城市地区面临的水资源挑战以及应对这些挑战的方法。它们将通过大学主办的网站向多个受众传播，网站上有葡萄牙语和英语材料。它们还将在公共研讨会、学术会议、同行评议期刊上发表文章，以及水资源管理人员培训中介绍。它利用科学和技术研究来了解水治理、制度安排以及公众参与在适应性管理中的作用。它有三个目标：它将审查水资源管理模式的演变，在坎塔雷拉系统联合水资源管理的情况下跟踪水资源治理和参与，并为该地区制定一个协作建模框架，纳入利益攸关方确定的挑战和机遇，并制定一套参与规则。这些目标将通过包括定性和定量方法在内的混合方法来实现。考察水资源管理模式演变的方法是文献分析和档案工作。另外两个目标将通过面谈、出席会议、技术文件内容分析、建立协作模型和举办一系列讲习班来实现，以吸引公众参与。通过使用参与性建模过程和利益攸关方参与，该项目旨在改善模型作为边界对象的作用，使公众能够利用科学知识进行水资源分配决策。这种创新的合作方法有可能通过减少信息不对称和通过向公众开放的说教工具提高透明度来改变水资源规划。

General Audience Summary The proposed dissertation research project will study water management issues in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, Brazil, which is currently facing a historical drought that has placed the public and industry under great risk of water shortages. The impending water crisis has brought into question the reliability of the water system, a problem that is not unique to Sao Paulo; it has raised the question on how to encourage adaptive capacity and robust institutions that can govern in the face of growing environmental challenges. The work will be conducted at the water basin level in partnership with local universities, water utilities, federal and state agencies, and water basin committees to engage stakeholders in a collaborative modeling process. At the core of the case study are questions of how models support decision-making, how scientific knowledge gets incorporated into policy, and how meaningful participation can strengthen the modeling, decision, and institutional building process. The results of this project will illuminate the water challenges of rapidly growing urban regions and ways to meet these challenges. They will be disseminated to multiple audiences through a university-hosted website where material is available in both Portuguese and English. They will also be presented at public workshops, academic conferences, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and training of water managers.Technical Summary The proposed research is interdisciplinary. It draws on Science and Technology Studies to understand water governance, institutional arrangements, and the role of public participation in adaptive management. It has three objectives: It will examine the evolution of water resource management models, trace water governance and participation in the case of the Cantareira system joint water management, and develop a collaborative modeling framework for the region that incorporates the challenges and opportunities defined by stakeholders and create a set of rules of engagement. These objectives will be accomplished through a mixed-method approach including qualitative and quantitative methods. The methods employed to examine the evolution of water resource management models are document analysis and archival work. The other two objectives will be met by way of interviews, meeting attendance, content analysis of technical documents, collaborative model building and a series of workshops to engage the public. By using a participatory modeling process and stakeholder engagement, the project aims to improve the role of models as boundary objects that allow the public to use scientific knowledge for water allocation decision. This innovative collaborative approach has the potential to transform water resource planning by decreasing information asymmetries and improving transparency through didactic tools that are made accessible to the public.