Water management for irrigation, crop yield and social attitudes: a socio-agricultural agent-based model to explore a collective action problem

AbstractA pressing challenge for coming decades is sustainable and just management of large-scale common-pool resources including the atmosphere, biodiversity and public services. This poses a difficult collective action problem because such resources may not show signs that usage restraint is needed until tragedy is almost inevitable. To solve this problem, a sufficient level of cooperation with a pro-conservation behavioural norm must be achieved, within the prevailing sociopolitical environment, in time for the action taken to be effective. Here we investigate the transient dynamics of behavioural change in an agent-based model on structured networks that are also exposed to a global external influence. We find that polarisation emerges naturally, even without bounded confidence, but that for rationally motivated agents, it is temporary. The speed of convergence to a final consensus is controlled by the rate at which the polarised clusters are dissolved. This depends strongly on the combination of external influences and the network topology. Both high connectivity and a favourable environment are needed to rapidly obtain final consensus.

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Water Runoff and Catchment Improvement by Nature-Based Solution (NBS) Promotion in Private Household Gardens: An Agent-Based Model

Future City - Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-71819-0_5 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 91-114

Author(s):

Rembrandt Koppelaar ◽

Antonino Marvuglia ◽

Benedetto Rugani

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Balance Model ◽

Water Runoff ◽

Monetary Incentives ◽

Agent Based Model ◽

Soil Water Retention ◽

Agent Based ◽

Run Off ◽

Knowledge Support ◽

Household Gardens

AbstractNature-based solutions (NBS) such as rainwater gardens and permeable paving can be deployed as an alternative to conventional urban gardens to improve cities’ resilience against increasing rainfall. This study describes the application of an agent-based model (ABM) to assess the role of private gardens toward the enhancement of water management by households. The ABM simulates the process of switching from “gray” (i.e., paved) to green gardens, taking into account the effect of “soft” (garden networks and gardening workshops) and “hard” (monetary) incentives. The ABM is supported by a water balance model to consider the effect of rainfall on soil water retention. Four different cities in Europe were analyzed: Szeged (Hungary), Alcalá de Henares (Spain), Metropolitan city of Milan (Italy), and Çankaya Municipality (Turkey). The results demonstrate that greening private gardens can generate impact on water run-off and catchment in cities in the order of 5–10%, reaching picks up to 20% in certain cases. While the proposed model is not devoid of limitations, the results provide useful insights in the ways different instruments (e.g., municipal subsidies and knowledge support) could assist with the greening of private gardens for NBS promotion to respond to cities’ water management challenges.

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