important aspects of the education process for everyone involved in environmental management. These tools can open the simulation arena to a
much wider set of participants and can allow analytical modeling to play a
key role in addressing complex management problems that would otherwise be intractable.
14.6 Conclusions
To address the substantial challenges facing our society, an integrative,
transdisciplinary approach to environmental management must be
adopted. The ability to build abstract representations of reality (models)
that are useful in understanding and solving complex problems is at the
core of this new approach. Because of the complexity of linked ecological
and socioeconomic systems, a sophisticated, pluralistic, and participatory
approach to modeling is becoming increasingly important. Modeling is
essentially a form of synthesis that allows the emergent understanding to
be tested, communicated to others, and further developed to draw new
conclusions and insights.
A significant investment in education and training of all involved groups
is necessary to realize the potential of environmental modeling in the management process. Managers and decision makers must be educated about
the value of analytical modeling, particularly the relevance and importance
of modeling, limits and uncertainties of models, and available modeling
approaches. Modelers and scientists will benefit from training in communicating their results to nontechnical audiences, understanding the needs and
constraints of the environmental management process, and facilitating the
collaborative aspects of the modeling process. Students should augment a
solid grounding in analytical techniques with courses, research, and workshops that develop their capabilities in synthesis and creative problem
solving, systems thinking, and quantitative modeling methodology. They
should be facile in communicating with interdisciplinary and nontechnical
audiences. Other stakeholders can be included in a collaborative modeling
process, which can help build mutual understanding; solicit input from a
broad range of participants; and maintain a substantive interaction among
managers, scientists, modelers, and stakeholders.
Investment in targeted educational initiatives may be the quickest and
most cost-effective way to facilitate the application of modeling to environmental management. This conclusion is particularly evident for smallscale, local problems that can be effectively isolated from the sociocultural
context in which they are embedded. These initiatives can help build a
common understanding of the goals, uses, and limitations of models among
managers, policymakers, modelers, and stakeholders and can facilitate
effective communication among these groups. Modeling toolkits that
support graphic model interfaces and visualization of model output can play
14. Educational Investments
281
much wider set of participants and can allow analytical modeling to play a
key role in addressing complex management problems that would otherwise be intractable.
14.6 Conclusions
To address the substantial challenges facing our society, an integrative,
transdisciplinary approach to environmental management must be
adopted. The ability to build abstract representations of reality (models)
that are useful in understanding and solving complex problems is at the
core of this new approach. Because of the complexity of linked ecological
and socioeconomic systems, a sophisticated, pluralistic, and participatory
approach to modeling is becoming increasingly important. Modeling is
essentially a form of synthesis that allows the emergent understanding to
be tested, communicated to others, and further developed to draw new
conclusions and insights.
A significant investment in education and training of all involved groups
is necessary to realize the potential of environmental modeling in the management process. Managers and decision makers must be educated about
the value of analytical modeling, particularly the relevance and importance
of modeling, limits and uncertainties of models, and available modeling
approaches. Modelers and scientists will benefit from training in communicating their results to nontechnical audiences, understanding the needs and
constraints of the environmental management process, and facilitating the
collaborative aspects of the modeling process. Students should augment a
solid grounding in analytical techniques with courses, research, and workshops that develop their capabilities in synthesis and creative problem
solving, systems thinking, and quantitative modeling methodology. They
should be facile in communicating with interdisciplinary and nontechnical
audiences. Other stakeholders can be included in a collaborative modeling
process, which can help build mutual understanding; solicit input from a
broad range of participants; and maintain a substantive interaction among
managers, scientists, modelers, and stakeholders.
Investment in targeted educational initiatives may be the quickest and
most cost-effective way to facilitate the application of modeling to environmental management. This conclusion is particularly evident for smallscale, local problems that can be effectively isolated from the sociocultural
context in which they are embedded. These initiatives can help build a
common understanding of the goals, uses, and limitations of models among
managers, policymakers, modelers, and stakeholders and can facilitate
effective communication among these groups. Modeling toolkits that
support graphic model interfaces and visualization of model output can play
14. Educational Investments
281