80
high. Despite some progress, many parts of the world are constantly lagging behind
the water-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (United Nations 2006 ,
2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2012 ) not to mention the minor advances made in the overarching goal of the UN Charta to guarantee access to drinking water and safe sanitation
for everybody as a human right or, even more ambitious, establish water security for
all individual, agronomic, and economic purposes. With good cause, there are
doubts that various water sector goals can ever be achieved as long as both scientifi c
knowledge about and practical management of water are dominated by specialization and distinction.
Major water engineering projects (MWEPs) can act as examples for studying the
problems the water sector faces in general. MWEPs are conceived of “complex
socio-technical, social-ecological and political-economic systems or confi gurations” (Moss and Dobner 2015 , in this volume, pp. 101–111 ). Hence their scientifi c
assessment and management has to address a number of different, but interdependent issues simultaneously. As evident as this basic insight into the challenges of
sustainably managing MWEPs is, it remains diffi cult to meet these demands in
theory and practice. That MWEPs’ knowledge is created in separate realms put up
barriers to ambitions to holistically bridge unique scientifi c languages, knowledge
bases, and approaches. Practitioners usually are well aware of the complexity and
interrelatedness of problems associated with the installation and management of
MWEPs, but fragmented responsibilities for technical, ecological, or cultural and
social issues frequently prevent coordinated action. For example, while a MWEP
may be technically feasible and economically desirable, social, cultural, or political
resistance can throw up insurmountable obstacles for a project’s implementation
and/or its maintenance.
Understanding and managing the complexity of MWEPs properly remains a scientifi c and practical aspiration. In the following section, we address this problem by
fi rst looking at two different approaches: System Theory (6.2) and Governance
(6.3), which from different perspectives both promise to link the separate fi elds of
science and practice. Secondly, by applying our fi ndings to MWEPs, and fi nally by
drawing some conclusions on further research (6.4).
6.2 System Theory Revisited
In the middle of the twentieth century, a number of scientists from heterogeneous
disciplines promoted a holistic approach under the label of (General) System Theory
(see von Bertalanffy 1950 ). Taking on ideas from cybernetics, i.e. a scientifi c stream
dealing with regulation and control of machines, living organisms and social organizations (Wiener 1948 ), system theory centres around the notion that any “complex
of interacting elements” (von Bertalanffy 1950 , p. 143) can be defi ned as a “system.” A system is, therefore, any social, biological, technical, political, economic,
psychological, or other kind of entity that consists of a number of connected parts.
It is important to note that system theory also operates with the similarly abstract
P. Dobner and H.-G. Frede
high. Despite some progress, many parts of the world are constantly lagging behind
the water-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (United Nations 2006 ,
2007 , 2008 , 2009 , 2012 ) not to mention the minor advances made in the overarching goal of the UN Charta to guarantee access to drinking water and safe sanitation
for everybody as a human right or, even more ambitious, establish water security for
all individual, agronomic, and economic purposes. With good cause, there are
doubts that various water sector goals can ever be achieved as long as both scientifi c
knowledge about and practical management of water are dominated by specialization and distinction.
Major water engineering projects (MWEPs) can act as examples for studying the
problems the water sector faces in general. MWEPs are conceived of “complex
socio-technical, social-ecological and political-economic systems or confi gurations” (Moss and Dobner 2015 , in this volume, pp. 101–111 ). Hence their scientifi c
assessment and management has to address a number of different, but interdependent issues simultaneously. As evident as this basic insight into the challenges of
sustainably managing MWEPs is, it remains diffi cult to meet these demands in
theory and practice. That MWEPs’ knowledge is created in separate realms put up
barriers to ambitions to holistically bridge unique scientifi c languages, knowledge
bases, and approaches. Practitioners usually are well aware of the complexity and
interrelatedness of problems associated with the installation and management of
MWEPs, but fragmented responsibilities for technical, ecological, or cultural and
social issues frequently prevent coordinated action. For example, while a MWEP
may be technically feasible and economically desirable, social, cultural, or political
resistance can throw up insurmountable obstacles for a project’s implementation
and/or its maintenance.
Understanding and managing the complexity of MWEPs properly remains a scientifi c and practical aspiration. In the following section, we address this problem by
fi rst looking at two different approaches: System Theory (6.2) and Governance
(6.3), which from different perspectives both promise to link the separate fi elds of
science and practice. Secondly, by applying our fi ndings to MWEPs, and fi nally by
drawing some conclusions on further research (6.4).
6.2 System Theory Revisited
In the middle of the twentieth century, a number of scientists from heterogeneous
disciplines promoted a holistic approach under the label of (General) System Theory
(see von Bertalanffy 1950 ). Taking on ideas from cybernetics, i.e. a scientifi c stream
dealing with regulation and control of machines, living organisms and social organizations (Wiener 1948 ), system theory centres around the notion that any “complex
of interacting elements” (von Bertalanffy 1950 , p. 143) can be defi ned as a “system.” A system is, therefore, any social, biological, technical, political, economic,
psychological, or other kind of entity that consists of a number of connected parts.
It is important to note that system theory also operates with the similarly abstract
P. Dobner and H.-G. Frede