Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
e.g. a small sub-catchment could have different objectives, specific to the locality, in
contrast to the objectives and goals of the whole river catchment. Integration in terms of
hierarchy, and the incorporation of the sub-catchment objectives, within the goals and
perspectives of the whole catchment are examples of integration at different levels and
scales. Thus, the subject of integration covers a wide spectrum of activities and aspects,
which involve a variety of professionals working in completely different areas, not only
in the different fields of technical sciences, but also in politics, economics and social
sciences. Problems discussed in this topic have been addressed to different specialists
from the field of engineering and natural sciences involved in the process, with specific
references to management techniques, such as programs planning and development,
public involvement, stakeholders participation and the need for a phased approach to the
solution of diffuse pollution problems in particular and the water resources management
in general. Two specific aspects of integration, as discussed below, need to be given more
attention in the region, and require more efforts for their practical implementation.
1.1 The multidisciplinary approach to diffuse pollution management
Any management program related to the solution of one or several diffuse pollution
problems, even at the lowest level in terms of scope and objectives, would require the
involvement and integration of the efforts and expertise of different specialists working in
the field. Therefore, the execution of the program would need the formation of
multidisciplinary teams or task groups, in order to achieve the common objectives. Each
member of the multy-disciplinary team could have different sub-objectives within the
common objective, e.g. to solve a specific technical problem, to develop a policy in the
field, to evaluate the current status of a natural water body, etc. The approach to the
formation of such groups or teams in the developed and developing countries is different.
Developed countries have well-developed human resources capacity and numerous
specialists working in different areas of specialization, therefore the formation of such
multi-disciplinary teams could involve a relatively large number of specialized
professionals. Developing countries usually lack this capacity and the number of trained
specialists is limited, both in numbers and in fields of specialization. Therefore, the
approach to the formation of such multidisciplinary task groups should be different from
the one applied in developed countries. The multi-disciplinary team would involve a
smaller number of different specialists, who could cover larger, less specialized areas.
Figure 12.1 shows a graphical representation of such a team, where the number of
different specialists (n), involved in the team, would vary based on the local conditions.
No matter how large ā€œnā€ is, in order to obtain common understanding and an integrated
result, all team-members should have basic knowledge with respect to common concepts
and definitions, represented by the inner circle of the diagram. The larger the ā€œnā€, the
smaller the diameter of the inner circle representing the extent of the basic knowledge of
each one of the team-members, as each one of them would be required to work mainly in
his field of expertise. In the case of small number of specialists involved, the extent of
basic concepts and principles (inner circle) should be grater, compared to the specialized
knowledge of each team member, as one person would be required to solve several tasks
from mutually related fields.
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