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A Guide to Complexity Theory and Systems Thinking for Integrated Water Resources Research and Management

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A Guide to Complexity Theory and Systems Thinking for Integrated Water Resources Research and Management (Leave space A guide to complexity theory and systems thinking for integrated water resources research and management Report to the Water Research Commission by Sharon Pollard1 Derick du Toit1 2 Harry Biggs 1 Association for Water and rural Development (AWARD), Acornhoek 2 SANParks, Scientific Services, Skukuza Progress in and barriers to the internalization of complexity in integrated water resources management: a scoping and synthesis of early lessons and a way forward WRC Report No. KV 277/11 ISBN 978-1-4312-0162-4 October 2011 An overview of complexity The publication of this report emanates from a WRC project titled A guide to complexity theory and system thinking for integrated water resources research and management (WRC Project No. K8/854). DISCLAIMER This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflects the views and policies of the WRC, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. ii An overview of complexity Executive summary The objective of this consultancy was to explore progress in and barriers to the internalization of complexity in integrated water resources management, and to do this through a scoping synthesis of early lessons. In essence then the report seeks to provide a guide to complexity for Integrated Water Resources Management and research endeavours based on the issues identified from interviews with key stakeholders. In these interviews with academics and practitioners, a number of issues were raised regarding the internalisation of complexity and we hope that these have been addressed. This guide was thus tailored to try to meet these different needs. The report comprises two sections: Section A which details complexity theory and thinking or in Section B which offers a number of case studies that have embraced complexity or that demonstrates properties emergent from complex systems. Section A starts with a history of the genesis and development of complexity theory, which arose as a critique to traditional science and management approaches, which are briefly reviewed. This is followed by an overview of the key principles of complexity theory and characteristics of complex systems as opposed to complicated systems. We examine the uptake of complexity theory and the associated and emergent theories, frameworks and practices. This is followed by a short discussion on ‘tools’ for complexity research and development although we caution against any strong focus on tools per se. In Section B we provide a number of cases that are illustrative of complexity, the first, which traces the adoption of strategic adaptive management by the Kruger National Park, was a process that explicitly recognised complexity. The second and third case studies of water resources management in two catchments, discuss self-organisation and feedbacks, both emergent properties of complex systems. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the Water Research Commission for the financial support of this project. We also thank those who gave of their time for interviews and especially staff of SANParks. All of the attendees of the Akili workshop held in George in November 2009 are also thanked for their constructive inputs. iii An overview of complexity iv An overview of complexity Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iii SECTION A: An overview of complexity theory and an exploration of what this means for IWRM .............1 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 1.1. Introduction to IWRM and report objectives ................................................................................2 2. The history and emergence of complexity thinking ......................................................................4 2.1. The world as increasingly complex ..............................................................................................4 2.2. Newtonian science and the modernity project .............................................................................5 2.3. Systems thinking, complexity and postmodernism .......................................................................6 2.3.1. Systems thinking ....................................................................................................................... 6 2.3.2. Complexity science .................................................................................................................... 8 3. Complexity science – principles and properties ............................................................................9 3.1. Complex adaptive (or multi-agent) systems and the importance of self-organisation ...................... 9 3.2. When is a system complex? Key attributes of complex systems .................................................. 11 4. The uptake of complexity and development of associated concepts ............................................ 14 4.1. A brief overview ...................................................................................................................... 14 4.2. Socio-ecological systems and resilience theory .......................................................................... 19 4.2.1. A discomfort with conventional resource management and the importance of resilience ......... 19 4.2.2. Non-linearity, adaptive cycles and multiple scales and cross-scale effects .............................. 24 4.2.3. Complexity and learning ..................................................................................................... 26 4.3. The issue of ‘tools’ for complexity approaches and praxis ........................................................... 29 Research and Modelling tools ...................................................................................................... 30 4.4. Concluding comments on complexity and IWRM ........................................................................ 34 SECTION B: Cases studies: Water resources and complexity thinking ................................................... 35 5. Strategic adaptive management in complex systems: Transforming river management by the Kruger National Park ................................................................................................................ 36 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 36 5.2. The need to shift management paradigms: A brief historical account .......................................... 37 5.3. The adoption of SAM and lessons from KNPs approach .............................................................. 40 6. Managing in complex systems: Exploring the role of self-organisation and multi-scale feedbacks for learning and responsivity in IWRM of the lowveld rivers ............................................................. 43 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 43 6.2. Conceptual underpinnings – complexity, resilience and the role of self organisation and feedbacks .............................................................................................................................................. 43 6.3. Overall approach and contextual overview of catchments ........................................................... 49 v An overview of complexity 6.3.1. Overall approach ......................................................................................................... 49 6.3.2. Groot Letaba Catchment: Overview of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics .... 50 6.3.3. Crocodile River Catchment: Overview of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics . 51 6.3.4. Compliance with the Ecological Reserve ....................................................................... 53 6.4. The emergence of self-organisation and feedback loops in water resources use and management in the lowveld rivers .................................................................................................................... 54 6.4.1. The Letaba Catchment ................................................................................................ 54 6.4.3. Crocodile River ............................................................................................................ 56 7. Factors constraining and enabling the emergence of self-organisation and feedbacks .................. 59 8. Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 61 References ....................................................................................................................................... 63 List of figures Figure 1 Social-economic, political and ecological systems do not exist in a vacuum but are coupled, dynamic systems (from Pollard et al. 2009) ............................................................................ 19 Figure 2 The Generalised Adaptive Cycle. (modified from Gunderson at al 1995) which acts as a generic explanation
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