Ehsan Nabavi

• Australian National University

Within hydrological modelling, a persistent notion exists that a model is a neutral, objective tool. However, this notion has several, potentially harmful, consequences, such as marginalising certain stakeholders. In the critical social sciences, the non-neutrality in methods and research results is an established topic of debate. Thus we propose t...

The notion of convergent and transdisciplinary integration, which is about braiding together different knowledge systems, is becoming the mantra of numerous initiatives aimed at tackling pressing water challenges. Yet, the transition from rhetoric to actual implementation is impeded by incongruence in semantics, methodologies, and discourse among d...

The notion of convergent and transdisciplinary integration, which is about braiding together different knowledge systems, is becoming the mantra of numerous initiatives aimed at tackling pressing water challenges. Yet, the transition from rhetoric to actual implementation is impeded by incongruence in semantics, methodologies, and discourse among d...

Advancements in large language models (LLMs) provide opportunities to accelerate progress towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Current research largely overlooks the nuanced benefits and dangers LLMs introduce to sustainability research and communication, as well as broader challenges that need to be addressed in the...

Whether we, as end-users of technology, are aware of it or not, our societies are becoming increasingly entangled in a complex network of interactions with Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. This goes beyond what is often called ‘Human-AI collaboration’, involving the broader socio-political systems supporting these technologies [1] . Faced wi...

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic inspire a guide to recognizing the politics of modeling

This paper introduces and fleshes out a systemic method designed to develop a holistic understanding of states’ behavior in transboundary water conflict and cooperation. Such an approach leverages causality analysis to capture the deep structural characteristics that shape the hydropolitics dynamics and may lead to the evolution of destructive beha...

There is a growing debate amongst academics and practitioners on whether interventions made, thus far, towards Responsible AI have been enough to engage with the root causes of AI problems. Failure to effect meaningful changes in this system could see these initiatives not reach their potential and lead to the concept becoming another buzzword for...

A race starts today," declared Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as he launched Bing search engine powered by the artificial intelligence within ChatGPT, putting Google executives on edge. In response, Google quickly announced it will revamps its products with the debut of Chatbot Bard, but a single slip-up from Bard cost the company a staggering $100 bi...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought into focus the crucial role of computational modeling and simulation in informing and/or advising governments and societies, demonstrating the profound influence that modelers can have, particularly in times of crisis. This global experience has (re)shaped political and public demands on science and technology and the...

To give more weight to plural understanding of the future, which is often accompanied with varying degrees of disagreement or conflict, new forms of public engagement is key. Among various deliberative methods, art-based and embodied practices are particularly important in connecting mind and body of participants and their disparate ways of knowing...

Studying the relationship between water expertise and the state's governance is important as it helps to explain the mechanism by which a certain group of experts rise to power, speaking for water—its challenges, and opportunities. This is particularly of concern in the times of crisis when the society does not know where to turn, and who to trust....

There is a growing debate amongst academics and practitioners on whether interventions made, thus far, towards Responsible AI would have been enough to engage with root causes of AI problems. Failure to effect meaningful changes in this system could see these initiatives to not reach their potential and lead to the concept becoming another buzzword...

Water governing systems are twisted with complex interplays among levels and scales which embody their structures. Typically, the mismatch between human-generated and natural systems produces externalities and inefficiencies reflectable in spatial scales. The largely known problem of fit in water governance is investigated to detect the issues of f...

Water governing systems are twisted with complex interplays among levels and scales which embody their structures. Typically, the mismatch between human-generated and natural systems produces externalities and inefficiencies reflectable in spatial scales. The largely known problem of fit in water governance is investigated to detect the issues of f...

The problem of groundwater depletion is a serious issue in many countries, including Iran. One of the adopted measures by Iran's government to address this problem has been limiting the number of permits for digging wells and defining forbidden plains. Yet, this policy has caused a progressive increase in the number of illegal wells. Although the s...

Our digital age is characterized by both a generalized access to data and an increased call for participation of the public and other stakeholders and communities in policy design and decision-making. This context raises new challenges for political decision-makers and analysts in providing these actors with new means and moral duties for decision...

Australia’s water reform project is failing to fully deliver for all Australians. With the COVID-19 pandemic, long-accepted approaches are being questioned in many areas of national policy. This also applies to water reform. The Australian bush fires of 2019-20 mean that Australians can no longer ignore the devastating impacts of natural disasters...

This report considers the problem of disruptive changes in the technologies for detection of SSBNs and how they intersect with the growing or continued reliance on submarines for retaliatory nuclear capability. In simple terms, this report answers the question: Will future science and technology make the oceans transparent? It takes a scientific pe...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting society in varied ways as researchers and practitioners are using it to gain new insights into different problems and to open up new business opportunities. Its use has expanded from industry and manufacturing, to areas of sustainability such as land, water, biodiversity, urban transportation, waste, energy...

Control systems are designed and built to manage and regulate the behavior of other systems. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in control systems has simultaneously created new opportunities and new challenges in how we create, manage, and govern cyber-physical systems. In this paper, we discuss the challenge of defining and developing a mode...

Abstract: The need to address uncertainty is now commonly acknowledged in the modelling community. In a decision support context, fitness for purpose is the guiding principle, but the process of establishing purpose and fitness often remains a black box in practice. We know that modellers use a variety of tools and methods to examine performance,...

Similar to any modelling technique, system dynamics (SD) modelling should start with the essential step of scop-ing and identifying the problem of interest before further analysis and modelling. In practice, this first step is a challenging task, especially when wicked issues such as water management are being addressed. There is still a vital need...

The rapid depletion of aquifers around the world is a growing concern. This depletion raises important questions at national and local levels about different aspects of groundwater over-exploitation and related social and political implications. Iran is a country which has historically relied on groundwater resources for development purposes, but i...

Years of observations have shown many attempts which were initially designed to improve sectoral efficiency have been largely ineffective in achieving sustainable improvement in the system as a whole. This phenomenon, which have been well documented in various disciplines, is often attributed to the unintended consequences of sectoral-biased decisi...

One hundred and ten years after the Persian (Iranian) constitution of 1906, the country is experiencing a serious water crisis. Blame is often attributed to the government’s mismanagement. This paper aims to throw light on the water-related laws and policies throughout Iran’s history to unravel the cause of this crisis from a legal perspective. Thi...

The Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand are surrounded by water, but not the kind that is required for drinking and sanitation, agriculture, industry and a range of other land-based economic, social and cultural purposes. Freshwater in Oceania is variably distributed and not always accessible in the places and volumes required for human and...

Moving beyond the study of either of social or ecological networks, the research on social–ecological systems (SESs) has paved the way for sustainability science to analyse social and ecological networks in an integrated manner. However, the reality of SESs is not only one of hierarchal subsystems rooted in human societies and their ecological reso...

System Dynamics can be a powerful tool for understanding dynamics, especially feedback behaviours, in many social-ecological systems where sustainable pathways are sought. Along with quantitative simulations and optimization packages, System Dynamics offers qualitative tools (e.g. system archetypes, Causal Loop Diagrams, and Stock and Flow Diagrams...

The sense of both urgency and fear has become central to the process of addressing environmental challenges in our age of computers and satellites. The aggregation of different scientific information (numbers, graphs, images) related to environmental crises has framed policy discourses in a very urgency-driven environment. This paper explores how i...

The relationship between nation-states sharing a transboundary basin are largely governed by various political tools (diplomatic relationships and intl. treaties). But it is at sub-national level where more serious tensions over water allocation may happen. In the most conflict-ridden water conflict case in Iran, I found that almost all of the rese...

Years after the publication of the Brundtland commission report, the way to handle the sustainability of resources is, nevertheless, still the focal point of attention for the scientific community. In fact, an important and controversial key concept regarding the sustainability paradigm is how to align human activities with the environment in such...

Water resources play a pivotal role in the development of a region. The study of the hydro-politics of a water resource system clearly is one of the most challenging issues, which a researcher might be faced in his/her academic and technical career due to the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the problem. To tackle the main barriers of studyin...

River basin can be a proper example of complex system. It’s obvious that any trifle alteration in such systems may cause a surprising response in other dimensions of them. In order to resolve/conflict/dispute in such systems, having an integrated insight toward all aspects of the problem is necessary. Being one of the vital resources, in center of...