Special Issue "Application of the Systems Approach to the Management of Complex Water Systems"
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2020) | Viewed by 56413
Special Issue Editor

Interests: water management; systems analysis; complexity; risk; resilience; hydrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
During the past five decades we have witnessed a tremendous evolution in water resource systems management. Three of the characteristics of this evolution should be noted in particular.
First, the application of the systems approach to complex water management problems has been established as one of the most important advances in the field of water resource management. A primary emphasis of systems analysis in water resource management is on providing an improved basis for decision-making. A large number of analytical, computer-based tools, from simulation and optimization to multi-objective analysis, are available for formulating, analyzing and solving water resource planning, design and operational problems.
Second, the past five decades have brought a remarkable transformation of attitude in the water resource management community towards environmental concerns, and action to address these concerns. Water, together with land and air, is under significant pressure from a growing population, changing climate and the associated needs for food production and rapid urbanization.
Third, applying the principles of sustainability to water resource decision-making requires major changes in the objectives on which decisions are based, and an understanding of the complicated inter-relationships between existing ecological, economic and social factors. To make decisions designed to produce sustainable water resources also calls for a change in procedural policies and implementation.
Today, more than ever, we need appropriate tools that can assist in dealing with the difficulties introduced by the increase in the complexity of water resource problems, consideration of environmental impacts and the introduction of principles of sustainability. The systems approach is one such tool. This Special Issue offers an opportunity to review numerous applications of the systems approach to water resource management and draw lessons from worldwide experience relevant to the solution of future water problems.
Prof. Dr. Slobodan P. Simonovic
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Water resource management
- Systems analysis
- Sustainability
- Complexity
- Climate change
- Uncertainty
- Risk
- Resilience
- Decision support