- 期刊
- OpenAccess
Multi-criteria Planning Approach for Ranking of Land Management Alternatives at Different Spatial Scales
並列摘要
Integrated land management decisions require comprehensive sets of criteria in order to properly account for all managerial alternatives. Economic criteria have been used to evaluate possible alternatives in most cases. However, it is important to consider the broadest possible range of social, economic and environmental criteria. This paper describes an integrated framework for land management planning at different spatial scales, comprising watershed, sub-watershed and land-unit levels. The structure includes four elements: (1) application of the strategic land management planning approach using the Delphi method and group decision analysis at sub-watershed scales, (2) identification of decision criteria at the land unit scale using socio-economic analysis and hydrologic modelling, (3) multi-criteria decision analysis of different alternatives, and (4) multi-stakeholder alternative prioritization. The Kan watershed north of Tehran, Iran, was selected as a case study. The major objective of this research is to integrate quantitative and qualitative decision criteria for planning purposes. This approach can be adapted to prioritize a wide variety of land and water resources management decisions in similar watersheds.