Sustainable Management of Groundwater in Mexico Proceedings of a Workshop (2007) / Chapter Skim
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The Elements of Scientific Advice
The Elements of Scientific Advice
Pages 36-43
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From page 36... ...
A groundwater manager usually cannot be a good or effective manager if he or she does not have access to the pertinent scientific information. One of the obligations of scientists and the scientific community is to provide the needed scientific information to natural resource managers.
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From page 37... ...
Existing scientific knowledge is comprised of information that is known with certainty, information that is known probabilistically and information that is uncertain or unknown1. It is rare that scientific information is known 1 For purposes of this paper the term "risk" is used in situations which are described with a known set of probabilities and the term "uncertainty" is used to describe situations in which information is unknown.
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From page 38... ...
The task of the scientist in these situations is to provide knowledge not just about methods and processes for acquiring scientific information and their design but also to characterize ex ante the reliability of the system and the accuracy of the data which the system produces. Again, there are circumstances where the existing scientific state of the art does not allow for the gathering of data and knowledge with complete certainty.
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From page 39... ...
If integrated management of water resources is to be successful, the scientific information on which it is based will also have to be integrated. Optimizing Scientific Information The totality of the scientific information that would be useful in managing groundwater is substantial.
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From page 40... ...
Uncertainty and Adaptive Management In many circumstances good scientific information upon which to base groundwater management policies and schemes is simply not available. Yet there may be considerable urgency and need for management in order to protect the resource and to generate additional supplies of water in circumstances of scarcity.
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From page 41... ...
If groundwater managers are to succeed in their ever more complex and demanding endeavors they will need to have the best possible scientific knowledge and information. In developing and communicating this scientific information research scientists must be mindful of two fundamental principles that govern good scientific advice irrespective of the kind of science involved.
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From page 42... ...
Fourth, and finally, too often there is little or no scientific information available. Here adaptive management in which the manager learns by doing will require solid scientific input and a careful balancing between the experimental needs and the objectives of the management regime.
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From page 43... ...
1986. Adaptive Management of Natural Resources.
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