Participatory modelling as a co-creation pathway for human-natural systems management

Water-related and environmental challenges increasingly emerge from complex human–natural systems, where hydrological processes, ecosystem functioning and human decision-making are deeply interconnected through non-linear feedbacks and cross-scale dynamics. In such systems, scientific knowledge alone is often insufficient to fully capture system behaviour, as local practices, institutional arrangements and decision processes actively shape both pressures and responses. Strengthening hydrological and environmental research through the integration of stakeholder and decision-makers’ knowledge is therefore essential to enhance system understanding, decision relevance and the effectiveness of management strategies.

This contribution discusses the role of participatory modelling as a co-creation pathway for water and environmental resources management, drawing on multiple research experiences and applications developed across diverse eco-socio-hydrological contexts. Rather than focusing on isolated sectors (siloed approach), the proposed perspective embraces an integrated view of environmental systems, where water dynamics are analysed together with ecosystems, governance structures and human behaviour, allowing insights to be transferable across contexts.

System Dynamics (SD) modelling is proposed as a particularly suitable approach for representing and managing human–natural complexity. SD modelling enables the explicit representation of feedback mechanisms, delays and non-linear responses, and supports the exploration of alternative system trajectories through the simulation of management and policy intervention scenarios. Within participatory settings, SD modelling provides a shared analytical space in which scientific evidence and experiential stakeholder knowledge can be jointly organised and discussed.

The modelling process is articulated through a qualitative phase, in which participatory Causal Loop Diagrams support the collective construction of system understanding and its possible evolution, and a quantitative phase, where these representations are formalised into simulation models to explore system behaviour, trade-offs and unintended consequences over time. Stakeholder knowledge is integrated throughout both phases, contributing to problem framing, identification of relevant variables and feedbacks, equation development and interpretation of model outputs.

Beyond knowledge integration, co-creation is understood as a process that actively shapes system dynamics through actors’ behaviours, strategies and interactions. In complex human-natural systems, decisions made by farmers, utilities, policy-makers and other stakeholders are not external drivers, but endogenous components that influence feedback structures, system trajectories and long-term outcomes. By explicitly embedding decision-making processes, behavioural heterogeneity and adaptive responses within participatory models, co-creation allows these dynamics to be explored, discussed and negotiated. In this sense, participatory modelling becomes both an analytical and a transformative process: it supports collective learning about system behaviour, reveals potential policy resistance and unintended consequences, and creates the conditions for adaptive management strategies that are not only technically robust but also socially legitimate and implementable.