Showing papers by "Slobodan P. Simonovic published in 1997"

The Use of Object-Oriented Modeling for Water Resources Planning in Egypt

Abstract: Water problems are omnipresent and are already becoming a limiting factor in the development of many countries. Currently the balance between the available and required water in Egypt is fragile. Any movement away from the balancing point means either less ambitious economic development or depletion of the resources and degradation of the environment. The continuing revolution in computer hardware and software is expected to provide more insight into the water problems and to alleviate some of the future water crises. In this paper we have investigated potential benefits which can be accrued from the application of object-oriented modeling in water resources.

Consensus as the measure of sustainability

Abstract: Sustainable development is the new water resources paradigm of the 1990s, Yet its practical implications seem to be elusive. Metrics for measuring the level of sustainability are eagerly sought. It is very difficult to capture the important features, and maintain many of the valued details, of environmental and social systems when complete or appropriate economic accounting is attempted. A much more transcendent and flexible metric may be consensus. Consensus as a sustainability metric describes the level in which stakeholders are satisfied with a solution to a question. Consensus assumes that an appropriate group of stakeholders is able to collaborate in assessing proposed solutions to environmental problems or development initiatives. It also assumes that the collective best which a group of stakeholders has to offer implicitly provides insight to the needs of future generations. This paper describes an approach for assessing a level of consensus. The benefits are: estimation of areas of common...

Practical sustainability criteria for decision-making

Abstract: SUMMARY The new paradigm of sustainability necessitates revisions to traditional decision-making processes. This paper, which is the first in a series of four, outlines the changes required for decision-making to reflect sustainability concerns. Three sustainability criteria, that are the focus of the three subsequent papers, are introduced and the rationale for each is explained. A framework for incorporating the three sustainability criteria into the decision-making process is briefly outlined. The paper ends with the introduction to a case study, the North Central Project (NCP) for electricity supply alternatives. The NCP is used in the three following papers to demonstrate the individual components of the new approach to sustainable decision-making.

Development of a risk measure as a sustainable project selection criterion

Abstract: SUMMARY Sustainable decision-making requires consideration of technology, ecology, and the social and political infrastructure of society. While it may never be possible to identify with certainty what is sustainable and what is not, an attempt has been made in this paper to formulate a measure that permits one to compare the performances of project alternatives with respect to risk. An algorithm is presented for the evaluation of a risk criterion that can be used with other criteria in the process of selecting project alternatives. The intent of the risk criterion is to involve project stakeholders in the process of quantifying the risks associated with different project alternatives.

Sustainable development of water resources: introduction

Abstract: (1997). Sustainable development of water resources: introduction. Hydrological Sciences Journal: Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 449-450.