Increasing demand for water due to increasing population and economic development bring more pressure and conflict between stakeholders. Moreover, climate change represents an additional challenge. Integrated water resources management (IWRM) as a rational approach, combined with Decision Support Systems (DSS), will cope with conflicting demands between stakeholders, economies and the environment on the development and management of water resources.
The objectives of this research are: (1) to establish IWRM methodologies for securing water efficiency; (2) to identify the potential method for climate change adaptation in river basins by considering stakeholders’ business process; (3) to identify room for improvement in water efficiency concealed in business processes; (4) to support communication, negotiation and mutual understanding among stakeholders; and (5) to clarify what kind of information is required by whom, when, where and how, by assessing the requirements of stakeholders’ business processes and providing information on them.
The proposed DSS will be developed through five major steps: decision analysis, identification of required information for decision-making in stakeholders’ business processes, development of tools and functions, and development of a geographical interface (GUI). The expected outcomes from this research include visualization of water uses in river basin management; communicable operational water management by stakeholders for water efficiency; identification of information needed by activities for water use and management; generalization of decision structures in water sectors; what-if analysis for stakeholders’ business planning or river basin planning; and development of an effective DSS which supports stakeholders in decision-making in their business or water management activities for more holistic and efficient management of water resources.
Keywords: IWRM, DSS, climate change, river basin, stakeholders