Addressing accessibility challenges of GIS-based multiple-criteria decision analysis for integrated land management : case study in the Humber region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Greene, Randal (2010) Addressing accessibility challenges of GIS-based multiple-criteria decision analysis for integrated land management : case study in the Humber region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Land management is an important and complex activity requiring decision makers to simultaneously consider diverse values. Strategic frameworks such as integrated land management (ILM) and ecosystem-based management (EBM) provide guiding principles, but do not dictate specific techniques for integrating multiple values when analysing land-management decisions. Multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is an established set of methods for supporting decisions by taking into account many perspectives. MCDA has historically been combined with geographic information systems (GIS) and can provide scenario analyses for ILM and EBM. However, the use of GIS-based MCDA by land-management decision makers is limited by accessibility challenges, where accessibility refers to the ease of understanding and use of available methods and tools. The goal of this research is to support land-management decision makers and analysts in simultaneously considering multiple values by improving the accessibility of GIS-based MCDA. The objectives are to (1) identify specific accessibility challenges for land managers in using GIS-based MCDA to support ILM and EBM, (2) design a generic approach to GIS-based MCDA that addresses some of the accessibility challenges identified, (3) implement the approach by developing GIS-based MCDA custom software, and (4) validate the approach through an applied land-management case study. The primary accessibility challenge identified is that GIS-based MCDA tools are most often focused on the evaluation phase of decision making, which assumes that the problem is already well understood and structured. The approach and GIS software developed in this thesis helps address this challenge by providing exploration tools integrated with evaluation tools and supplemented with geovisualisation capabilities. Case-study participant feedback revealed that exploration facilitates understanding and structuring of land-management decision problems in preparation for evaluation.

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