A constrained multi-agent system compensating for self-lucrative behaviours in water resource sharing

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a multi-agent model for simulating realistic water-sharing scenarios and a means of studying and assessing an ecosystem's viability by taking under consideration environmental and socio-economical parameters. To account for farmer self-lucrative behaviours, exhibited due to the economic pressure exerted on them, the proposed model imposes constraints such as the lack of inter-farmer communication and observation. Additionally, a self-adaptive learning algorithm is proposed that compensates for such self-lucrative behaviours, despite the imposed constraints. The proposed model was calibrated using data derived from the Lake Koronia ecosystem, and experimental results provided statistical and objective figures of merit for assessing typical irrigation policies under study. As it will be demonstrated, the developed model is a viable means for assessing irrigation policies, and the proposed self-adaptive learning method is a means of guiding behaviours towards the viability of both the resource and its users.