Using causal loop diagrams for the initialization of stakeholder engagement in soil salinity management in agricultural watersheds in developing countries: A case study in the Rechna Doab watershed, Pakistan Azhar Inam, Jan Adamowski * , Johannes Halbe, Shiv Prasher Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, Canada article info Article history: Received 21 May 2014 Received in revised form 5 January 2015 Accepted 31 January 2015 Available online 11 February 2015 Keywords: Salinity management Stakeholder participation System thinking Causal loop diagram Stakeholder analysis Participatory modeling abstract Over the course of the last twenty years, participatory modeling has increasingly been advocated as an integral component of integrated, adaptive, and collaborative water resources management. However, issues of high cost, time, and expertise are significant hurdles to the widespread adoption of partici- patory modeling in many developing countries. In this study, a step-wise method to initialize the involvement of key stakeholders in the development of qualitative system dynamics models (i.e. causal loop diagrams) is presented. The proposed approach is designed to overcome the challenges of low expertise, time and financial resources that have hampered previous participatory modeling efforts in developing countries. The methodological framework was applied in a case study of soil salinity man- agement in the Rechna Doab region of Pakistan, with a focus on the application of qualitative modeling through stakeholder-built causal loop diagrams to address soil salinity problems in the basin. Individual causal loop diagrams were developed by key stakeholder groups, following which an overall group causal loop diagram of the entire system was built based on the individual causal loop diagrams to form a holistic qualitative model of the whole system. The case study demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed approach, based on using causal loop diagrams in initiating stakeholder involvement in the participatory model building process. In addition, the results point to social-economic aspects of soil salinity that have not been considered by other modeling studies to date. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Key points  A systems thinking and modeling methodology for the initialization of stakeholder engagement in soil salinity management is proposed.  An integrated approach to soil salinity management (including environmental, social, economic and technical aspects) is proposed.  The methodology supports the preparation of an inte- grated systems perspective through stakeholder-built causal loop diagrams.  The methodology was tested through a case study of the Rechna Doab watershed in Pakistan.  The case study results revealed important causes of soil salinity and solution strategies that have not been examined by other modeling studies to date. 1. Introduction Soil salinity remains a very dynamic and challenging process to manage sustainably in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. For example, on average, 14%, 20% and 26% of irrigated lands in Iran, India and Pakistan, respectively, are salt-affected (Shahid, 2013). An estimated 6 million hectares (Mha) of irrigated agricultural land in Pakistan, the focus area of this paper, is affected by soil salinity, causing a 62% loss in agricultural incomes (Tanwir et al., 2003). To solve the issue, the Pakistani government initiated a number of * Corresponding author. Department of Bioresource Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. E-mail address: jan.adamowski@mcgill.ca (J. Adamowski). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Environmental Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.01.052 0301-4797/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Environmental Management 152 (2015) 251e267