Special Issue "System Dynamics Simulation of Environmental and Resource Sustainability"

Guest Editor
Dr. Allyson Beall
Waters of the West, University of Idaho, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-2812, USA
E-Mail:
Interests: system dynamics; participatory environmental modeling; environmental modeling; interdisciplinary modeling

Guest Editor
Dr. Richard G. Dudley
21 Etna Lane, Etna, New York 13062, USA
E-Mail:
Interests: system dynamics modeling; fishery management; small scale fisheries; natural resources management; international development; conservation

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is a complex subject -- an idea meaning many things to many people. Discussion of specific suggestions, plans, or actions which might lead to sustainable outcomes can become bogged down when details of these are viewed by different stakeholders with differing opinions. If such discussions can be carried out within a clear, agreed upon, framework, then the ability to reach reasonable consensus can be enhanced. Of the tools available to build that framework, system dynamics modeling stands out. It is well established, is based on a solid mathematical footing, is flexible, and has well developed protocols for model building, verification, and analysis. In particular, system dynamics modeling is an ideal tool for examining complex systems characterized by feedbacks and delayed effects, characteristics that underlie so many sustainably issues.

System dynamics modeling was first used to address sustainability in the Limits to Growth models of the early 1970s. Since then system dynamics modeling has become more sophisticated and easier to use. Over the same period sustainability has become an influential paradigm for examining possible future scenarios. As a consequence this special issue is dedicated to highlighting works which examine sustainability through the lens of system dynamics.

Dr. Allyson Beall
Guest Editor

Dr. Richard G. Dudley
Guest Editor

• simulating sustainability
• simulation
• environmental modeling
• system dynamics
• system dynamics modeling
• natural resource simulation

Type of Paper: Communication
Title: Unsustainable Management of the Fosu Lagoon in Ghana: A Systems Dynamics Perspective
Authors: Frederick A. Armah ¹, David O. Yawson ², Alex N.M. Pappoe ¹ and Ernest K.A. Afrifa ¹
Affiliations: ¹ Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Biological Science, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; E-Mail: atoarmah@yahoo.com (F.A.A)
² Department of Soil Science-School of Agriculture, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; E-Mails: oskidoo@yahoo.com (D.O.Y); anmpappoe@yahoo.com (A.N.M.P.); e_afrifa@yahoo.co.uk (E.K.A.A.)
Abstract: Ecosystem management is part of multi-criteria decision-making processes that attempt to capture complexity and diverse interests in resource use. Using a causal loop diagram (CLD), a system dynamics tool, the paper critically examines the existing strategy adopted by the Cape Coast Municipality in Ghana to manage the Fosu lagoon. The thrust of the article is that the existing management strategy is inefficient and consequently unsustainable. The problem of Fosu lagoon contamination and the failure of local government policy to address the issue are symptomatic of the systems dynamics archetype ‘fixes that fail’. Primarily this is because the implementation of government policy in the Cape Coast Municipality generates unintended, particularly detrimental outcomes. This would suggest the need for a management strategy that takes into account feedbacks between cause (policy) and effect (resistance) relations.