| Integrated catchment management has arisen because managing environmental processes independently does not always produce sensible decisions when the wider view is taken. However, the problem for those charged with integrated management is the complexity of the process they are attempting to manage. They are therefore turning to decision support systems. The models used in these systems tend to address single issues. However, the catchment manager needs to understand all the possible impacts of pursuing any given policy. Implicit in this is a requirement both to understand and to be able to model not only the individual catchment processes but also their interactions. This project is about making possible the construction of whole catchment models in order to facilitate the integrated catchment management called for in the Water Framework Directive.The objective of this project, therefore, is to develop, implement and prove a European Open Modelling Interface and Environment (OpenMI) that will simplify the linking of models and hence allow catchment managers to explore the likely outcomes of different policies. More information on www.harmonit.org or www.openmi.org. |
