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A System Dynamics Model for the Environmental Management of the Sepetiba Bay Watershed, Brazil

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Abstract

In the recent past, the Sepetiba Bay watershed, located in the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil has experienced rapid industrial development and population growth, as well as an increase in water pollution and environmental degradation. To analyze the complex interrelationships among the agents affecting the Sepetibza Bay environment, a system dynamics model was developed. The model builds on extensive studies conducted for the watershed, and simulates different hypotheses of economic growth and of demographic expansion. Thus, it can be used as a decision support tool for the identification of investment priorities and policy analyses under various scenarios. In order to provide a comprehensive approach to the environmental management of the Sepetiba Bay watershed, the model had to consider only the most relevant aspects of the behavior and the key interactions among agents operating in the watershed. In this article, the model’s structure is presented together with some of its main results.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their thanks to the many people who contributed to the development of SBEM, and to the anonymous referees of this journal for their useful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. Of course, the authors remain solely responsible for the contents of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oceanography, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Bl. E, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20550-013, Brazil

    Silvio Jablonski

  2. Energy Planning Programme, COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, PO Box 68565, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 21945-970, Brazil

    Alexandre de C. Leal Neto & Luiz F. L. Legey

  3. Departmento de Modelación y Gestión Industrial, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Talca, Merced No. 437, Curicó, Chile

    Marcela Cecilia González-Araya

Authors
  1. Alexandre de C. Leal Neto
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  2. Luiz F. L. Legey
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  3. Marcela Cecilia González-Araya
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  4. Silvio Jablonski
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Correspondence to Silvio Jablonski.

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Leal Neto, A.d., Legey, L.F.L., González-Araya, M.C. et al. A System Dynamics Model for the Environmental Management of the Sepetiba Bay Watershed, Brazil. Environmental Management 38, 879–888 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0211-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-005-0211-5

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