Despite perceptions of high water availability, adequate access to sufficient water resources remains a major challenge in Alaska. This paper uses a participatory modeling approach to investigate household water vulnerability in remote Alaska and to examine factors that affect water availability and water access. Specifically, the work asks: how do water policy stakeholders conceptualize the key processes that affect household water vulnerability in the context of rural Alaska? Fourteen water policy stakeholders participated in the modeling process, which included defining the problem of household water vulnerability and constructing individual causal loop diagrams (CLDs) that represent their conceptualization of household water vulnerability. Individual CLDs were subsequently combined and five sub-models emerged: environmental, economic, infrastructure, social, and health. The environmental and economic sub-models of the CLD are explored in depth. In the environmental sub-model, climate change and environmental barriers due to geography influence household water vulnerability. In the economic sub-model, four processes and one feedback loop affect household water vulnerability, including operations and maintenance funding, the strength of the rural Alaskan economy, and the impact of regulations. To overcome household water vulnerability and make households more resilient, stakeholders highlighted policy solutions under five themes: economics, social, regulatory, technological, and environmental.

中文翻译：

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使用因果循环图对偏远阿拉斯加家庭的水脆弱性进行参与式建模

尽管人们认为水资源供应充足，但充分获取充足的水资源仍然是阿拉斯加的一项重大挑战。本文使用参与式建模方法来调查偏远阿拉斯加的家庭用水脆弱性，并检查影响水资源可用性和水资源获取的因素。具体而言，这项工作询问：水政策利益相关者如何将影响阿拉斯加农村地区家庭用水脆弱性的关键过程概念化？14 个水政策利益相关者参与了建模过程，其中包括定义家庭水脆弱性问题和构建代表他们对家庭水脆弱性概念化的个人因果循环图 (CLD)。随后将各个 CLD 组合起来，并出现了五个子模型：环境、经济、基础设施、社会和健康。深入探讨了 CLD 的环境和经济子模型。在环境子模型中，气候变化和地理环境障碍会影响家庭用水脆弱性。在经济子模型中，四个过程和一个反馈回路影响家庭用水脆弱性，包括运营和维护资金、阿拉斯加农村经济的强度以及法规的影响。为了克服家庭用水脆弱性并使家庭更具弹性，利益相关者强调了五个主题下的政策解决方案：经济、社会、监管、技术和环境。由于地理原因造成的气候变化和环境障碍会影响家庭用水的脆弱性。在经济子模型中，四个过程和一个反馈回路影响家庭用水脆弱性，包括运营和维护资金、阿拉斯加农村经济的强度以及法规的影响。为了克服家庭用水脆弱性并使家庭更具弹性，利益相关者强调了五个主题下的政策解决方案：经济、社会、监管、技术和环境。由于地理原因造成的气候变化和环境障碍会影响家庭用水的脆弱性。在经济子模型中，四个过程和一个反馈回路影响家庭用水脆弱性，包括运营和维护资金、阿拉斯加农村经济的强度以及法规的影响。为了克服家庭用水脆弱性并使家庭更具弹性，利益相关者强调了五个主题下的政策解决方案：经济、社会、监管、技术和环境。