Soft systems methodology and integrated flood management: a study of the Adayar watershed, Chennai, India

This paper applies Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) within the context of action research and Integrated Flood Management (IFM). A case study from the Adayar watershed, Chennai, is provided as an example of how SSM can be used to understand complex situations and as a problem-solving strategy for flood management. Flat topography, uncontrolled urban development, population growth, sand bar formation at the river mouth and low tidal action render complexity to flood management in Chennai. For effective flood management, a participatory and integrated approach, which includes stakeholders in the decision-making process and an enabling institutional set-up, is essential. As part of an integrated approach, the relationship between various organizations and the public is identified. SSM is an approach for addressing fuzzy problematic situations involving human activity. In this paper, SSM techniques like ‘Rich Picture Diagrams’ and ‘CATWOE analysis’ and participatory action research tools like ‘pairwise ranking’ and ‘force field analysis’ were investigated. Two workshops were conducted to define and explore the problematic situation, the role of various actors involved in the problem, to develop the conceptual model, to rank decision-making criteria, and to analyse the forces for and against to solve the problem. The flood management approach provided in this paper can be used by government agencies and policy makers to manage floods.