ABSTRACT
This chapter explores prospects for the exploitation of new information and communication technology (ICT) for representing and aiding the working-out of collective problems of governance of common environmental and natural resources. It begins by introducing the themes of complexity and 'wicked' problems, evoking the importance of social learning and multi-stakeholder deliberation. The VIRTUALIS project funded by the European Commission during 2001–2004, set out to develop computer-based learning tools exploiting state-of-the-art ICT, which would test new opportunities for organising and communicating scientific knowledge about risks and challenges in the field of environmental management for non-scientific audiences. Phyt'Amibe is, among other things, a prototype multi-criteria evaluation tool that could be exploited as a self-evaluation tool by a farmer or in interactive context in dialogue with researchers or other stakeholders. In the Herault case study of a hydrosystem in the south of France with closely coupled river and aquifer subsystems, the BRGM research team developed hydrosystem modelling in tandem with socioeconomic analysis.
