5 February 2013: The Global Water Partnership (GWP), with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) DHI Centre for Water and Environment and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), has published a technical focus paper titled “The Role of Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Models in Integrated River Basin Management (IWRM).”

The paper highlights that DSSs and Models are tools that can be used by practitioners to implement IWRM, in particular to make “sound, evidence-based decisions.” The paper notes that DSSs integrate a number of separate processes including: a database and processing environment; a knowledge and information system; a modeling and analysis framework; a socioeconomic analysis framework; and a communication framework. The paper stresses that sustainable DSS systems respond to real demand for services and are flexible to respond to emerging needs.

The paper includes sections on: rational and background; state of the art in model codes; DSSs for IWRM; DSS and its role in informing IWRM and development processes; and sustainability issues in DSS. The annex includes the following seven case studies: Mekong River Commission (MRC) – decision support framework (SDF); development and deployment of the Nile Basin DSS; hydro-economic modeling in the Euphrates-Tigris region; the Zambezi River Basin Multi-Sector Investment Opportunities Analysis; the application of hydro-economic modeling in the Rio Grande Basin; the Okavango River Basin DSS; and National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), India, “DSS Planning” for IWRM. [Publication: The Role of DSS and Models in IWRM]