Bridging the gap between knowledge and policy action: Land use is the key — confidence is the condition

摘要

The models produced by the scientific community get better and better; however, the gap between environmental knowledge and policy action is not shrinking. Land use and land-use change are the key interface between numerical hydrological models and policy implementation in river basins. The coupling of models and land use can be done most advantageously by the integration of land-use modelling and hydrological models in a scenario approach. To progress from knowledge to policy action, excellent scientific results and brilliant, coherent presentations are necessary. Scenarios are a tool for coping with this need. Thirty-five years of work at the interface of ecological science and policy leads to the experience, that confidence between the policy administration and scientists is the most important requirement for science-based policy making. However, generally speaking the time needed for confidence building is not included in project plans, therefore new project and cooperation structures must be developed.