Convergent and transdisciplinary integration: On the future of
integrated modeling of human-water systems
Abstract
The notion of convergent and transdisciplinary integration, which is
about braiding together different knowledge systems, is becoming the
mantra of numerous initiatives aimed at tackling pressing water
challenges. Yet, the transition from rhetoric to actual implementation
is impeded by incongruence in semantics, methodologies, and discourse
among disciplinary scientists and societal actors. This paper confronts
these disciplinary barriers by advocating a synthesis of existing and
missing links across the frontiers distinguishing hydrology from
engineering, the social sciences and economics, Indigenous and
place-based knowledge, and studies of other interconnected natural
systems such as the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosphere.
Specifically, we embrace ‘integrated modeling’, in both quantitative and
qualitative senses, as a vital exploratory instrument to advance such
integration, providing a means to navigate complexity and manage the
uncertainty associated with understanding, diagnosing, predicting, and
governing human-water systems. While there are, arguably, no bounds to
the pursuit of inclusivity in representing the spectrum of natural and
human processes around water resources, we advocate that integrated
modeling can provide a focused approach to delineating the scope of
integration, through the lens of three fundamental questions: a) What is
the modeling ‘purpose’? b) What constitutes a sound ‘boundary judgment’?
and c) What are the ‘critical uncertainties’ and how do they propagate
through interconnected subsystems? More broadly, we call for
investigating what constitutes warranted ‘systems complexity’, as
opposed to unjustified ‘computational complexity’ when representing
complex natural and human-natural systems, with particular attention to
interdependencies and feedbacks, nonlinear dynamics and thresholds,
hysteresis, time lags, and legacy effects.