Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 15
Coping with and Communicating Uncertainty
Abstract
Understanding and communicating uncertain and complex dynamics is
one of the biggest challenges to mobilising action in the face of climate change as
well as a wide range of other environmental issues. This short chapter provides
some reflections that draw on a wide range of different disciplines as to how to
potential communicate uncertainties. It is suggested that applying a diverse range of
insights on motivating action in the face of complex science and uncertain futures
could enhance the cohesiveness of cross-sector action and ingenuity of the
approaches to climate change adaptation at the watershed level.
Keywords
Inter-disciplinary approaches to managing uncertainty • Communicating
uncertainty • Behavioural economics • Scientific complexity • Climate change
adaptation
15.1
A Wicked Challenge
Understanding the challenges of communicating uncertain and complex dynamics
is a core issue in terms of how to generate action on climate change, not just for
water governance, but for earth system governance in the anthropocene. Attitudes to
risk and uncertainty vary according to cultural, social and psychological values,
which therefore influence the way in which climate change adaptation is viewed at
the country level (Tompkins and Adger
2005
), as well as how water governance
systems respond to climate change threats. Environmental and resource problems
have been termed by some researchers as particularly complex problems, indeed as
'wicked' problems (Rittel and Webber
1973
). The phrase was originally coined by
Rittel and Weber in relation to challenges of social and public policy making, where
it is difficult to apply rational scientific or expert based solutions to problems which
are not only complex to describe, but are subject to a large number of divergent lay
opinions. Wicked problems therefore require wicked solutions (Roberts
2000
) .
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