WADBOS: A policy support system for the Wadden Sea

Sustainable development of the Wadden Sea requires an integrated vision on policy and management issues enabling the impact of human use to be assessed within the context of the area's natural function. The development of WadBOS (the Dutch acronym for Wadden Sea Policy Support System) was motivated by the understanding that the improvement of policies for the Wadden Sea depends largely on the achievement of a better understanding of how the Wadden Sea operates as an integrated system. That is why WadBOS is based on a dynamic spatial model of the water system representing the ecological, social and economic functions of the area and the linkages between them.

The processes and influences that produce the constant changes in the area are represented as much as possible on the appropriate real-life spatial and time scales. Wherever possible, use has been made of existing models and these have been tailored to the needs of the policy makers with the help of experts from scientific institutes that are active in the region. The nature development module is a good example of this. It compares planning alternatives on the basis of their effects on the local ecology, economy and perceived amenity. Delft Hydraulics together with IVM of the Free University Amsterdam provided the design and decision rules of the nature development module which was integrated in the WadBOS architecture by the Research Institute for Knowledge Systems (RIKS).

more information

For more information please contact Mindert de Vries. .