Designing Enviromental Planning Strategies that Intergrate Stakeholder Beliefs and Scientific Models: A Case Study of Lake Lanier
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Date
1999
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AESOP
Abstract
Integrated assessment modeling (IAM) is a method for handling complex issues, integrating information from various scientific disciplines and stakeholders, such that decision-makers are informed of the science as well as the stakeholder interests (van Asselt and Rotmans, 1995). It was popularized as the method for studying the impacts of global climate change on various environmental factors such as agricultural production. The focus of IAM is on process, with integration among disciplines and stakeholders, offering solutions that otherwise would have been ignored by a study with singular focus, for example climatology (Rotmans et. al., 1997). While typically focusing on the larger issues associated with global change, we find the IAM exercise offers lessons in integrating multiple disciplines and community interests in studying the impacts of the environmental issues associated with planning. We have applied IAM to the issue of water quality, focusing on the effects of various determinants on the water quality of a rapidly urbanizing watershed.
Lake Sidney Lanier was created in 1956 as one of the US Army Corps of Engineers projects designed to manage water flow and supply, river navigation, and to provide additional power supply to the rural regions in the Southeastern section of the US. The project involved construction of the Buford Dam, which impounded stream flow from the Chattahoochee River, just south of where it is joined by the Chestatee River. Originally intended to serve rural communities, Lake Lanier is now considered part of the rapidly growing Metro Atlanta, Georgia Region of the US, providing additional important economic development opportunities such as recreation and tourism. As a multi-use reservoir, the lake provides recreation, water supply, electrical supply, navigation,and flood control. In 1991, Lake Lanier was the most frequently visited of the Army Corps lakes in the US. Given the region's rapidly developing urbanization, the Lake Lanier watershed is facing increasing pressure to make wise land-use decisions, thus bringing more focused attention to the area (Hatcher, et. al., 1994; Beck, et. al., 1998; Kundell, et. al, 1998; Limno-Tech, inc., 1998).
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Book of abstracts : AESOP PhD workshop 1999, Finse, Depertment of Geography Univeristy of Bergen, Norway
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CC-BY