Research project AS/DD/16 (Research action AS)
This research falls within the framework of article 35 of Agenda 21, which sets out the objective of "developing and applying new analytical and predictive tools in order to assess more accurately the ways in which the Earth's natural systems are being increasingly influenced by human actions (…) and demographic trends, and the impact and consequences of those actions and trends". The article also states the need to "support [the] development of new user-friendly technologies and systems that facilitate the integration of multidisciplinary, physical, chemical, biological and social/human processes which, in turn, provide information and knowledge for decision makers and the general public". This point constitutes the primary motivation for this research project. More specifically, the goal of the project was to identify approaches able to reinforce support for decision-making in the field of sustainable development through (i) the selection, confrontation and integration of scientific knowledge acquired in various areas of the sustainable development field, (ii) the active promotion of communication and exchange between potential users, whether they be scientists, political decision-makers or others.
The methodology being pursued is based on three levers: 1. the need for some form of modelling, which need not necessarily be quantitative but should be as rigorous as possible so as to guarantee objective and reproducible results; 2. the search for the most appropriate levels of decision-making and the inclusion of control variables corresponding to these levels in the model; 3. all this to enable an interdisciplinary, intergenerational and non-deterministic vision of development.
A methodological framework was designed for the research. It is based on five criteria which are often found in the literature about sustainable development, but generally in an unconnected way and, above all, not defined in terms of modelling and support for decision-making.
These five criteria are the following: interdisciplinarity, intergenerationality, uncertainty, "glocality" (combining local and global levels) and stakeholder participation. It was our view that models should respect these criteria as far as possible if they are to be capable of tackling sustainable development problems.
Moreover, it seemed to us that these five criteria did not always necessarily have the same importance, depending on the question being asked, which led us to apply them to two general themes: land management and energy, and the problems they involve. In addition to Agenda 21, the research is also influenced by the Rapport fédéral sur le développement durable (federal report on sustainable development) 2002 and its principles and criteria for decision-making in accordance with the requirements of sustainable development (Bureau fédéral du Plan (federal planning office), 2002). It also stems from the observation that sustainable development is not sufficiently taken into consideration in circles that influence decision-making from a "scientific" standpoint, where this standpoint should be read here as referring to the very restrictive angle of the models applied.
Sustainable development is currently still too unexplored a field for modellers to venture in, especially if they are confronted with decision-making. The motivation for the research is thus to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current models in the area, their potential (which is considerable) and avenues for future research.
