Multi-disciplinary modelling: an overview and practical implications for the governance of the Gulf region

Abstract

We examine the broad effects of the 1990–1991 Gulf conflict, and the constraints on future governance of the Gulf's resources. To date, the majority of studies have concentrated on the most immediate, short term environmental effects, leaving no clear regional picture. We therefore suggest a new approach to the problem by developing a theoretical framework for local, national and regional forms of environmental governance for a spatially extended biophysical system such as the Gulf. We argue that these new forms of governance are needed because: 1. the dynamics of the Gulf are influenced by a complex mixture of long- and short-term phenomena operating over a variety of spatiotemporal scales and 2. the most important processes are only captured to varying degrees in the current environmental management policies and institutional structures. We conclude that without such an integrated approach, future progress in policy development and environmental governance in the Gulf will be limited.