Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) for the sustainable management of water withdrawals in Alpine watercourses

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Methodological review of multicriteria optimization techniques: aplications in water resources

Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is an umbrella approach that has been applied to a wide range of natural resource management situations. This report has two purposes. First, it aims to provide an overview of advancedmulticriteriaapproaches, methods and tools. The review seeks to layout the nature of the models, their inherent strengths and limitations. Analysis of their applicability in supporting real-life decision-making processes is provided with relation to requirements imposed by organizationally decentralized and economically specific spatial and temporal frameworks. Models are categorized based on different classification schemes and are reviewed by describing their general characteristics, approaches, and fundamental properties. A necessity of careful structuring of decision problems is discussed regarding planning, staging and control aspects within broader agricultural context, and in water management in particular. A special emphasis is given to the importance of manipulating decision elements by means ofhierarchingand clustering. The review goes beyond traditionalMCDAtechniques; it describes new modelling approaches. The second purpose is to describe newMCDAparadigms aimed at addressing the inherent complexity of managing water ecosystems, particularly with respect to multiple criteria integrated with biophysical models,multistakeholders, and lack of information. Comments about, and critical analysis of, the limitations of traditional models are made to point out the need for, and propose a call to, a new way of thinking aboutMCDAas they are applied to water and natural resources management planning. These new perspectives do not undermine the value of traditional methods; rather they point to a shift in emphasis from methods for problem solving to methods for problem structuring. Literature review show successfully integrations of watershed management optimization models to efficiently screen a broad range of technical, economic, and policy management options within a watershed system framework and select the optimal combination of management strategies and associated water allocations for designing a sustainable watershed management plan at least cost. Papers show applications in watershed management model that integrates both natural and human elements of a watershed system including the management of ground and surface water sources, water treatment and distribution systems, human demands,wastewatertreatment and collection systems, water reuse facilities,nonpotablewater distribution infrastructure, aquifer storage and recharge facilities, storm water, and land use

The development and analysis of future agricultural landscapes

Alternative futures studies provide a way for policy-makers and stakeholders to investigate the future impacts of different management strategies by providing representations of possible outcomes. An alternative futures study was undertaken by the Pacific Northwest-Ecosystem Research Consortium for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon, USA, to determine how this regional system would respond to various drivers of change. To support this effort required the development of a simulation model that generates future agricultural landscapes in response to these drivers of change and the evaluation of the resulting landscapes to derive information useful for policy analysis and community discussions. These goals were achieved by creating a characterization of the initial agricultural system, developing an agricultural land-cover change model, and finally, integrating this model with scenario elements to produce the final agricultural landscape evolution model. An important part of the initial landscape characterization was determining the crop suitability class of the basin's agricultural soils for 14 commonly grown crops. Suitability rankings were generated by using rough-set rule induction to create predictive if-then rules that related a soil's biophysical characteristics to crop production and then applying these rules to all the agricultural soils in the basin. After characterizing the agricultural system, a spatially explicit, multi-attribute decision model was developed to simulate a grower's crop-selection decision. This model used attributes describing a field's biophysical conditions and each crop's agronomic, economic, and management characteristics to select a field's preferred crop from a list of crop alternatives. Next, rules and constraints were formulated for each of the three policy scenarios: a continuation of current trends, an increased reliance on market forces to determine land use, and an increased emphasis on environmental restoration programs. The initial agricultural landscape depiction, crop selection model, and scenario rules were used to generate three future landscapes, each depicting an alternative state of the agricultural system in the year 2050. Then, landscape metrics and screening models were used to assess the agronomic and environmental condition of each agricultural landscape. Finally, this information was placed into the context of the Willamette River Basin, with suggestions for policy development and analysis

Ecosystem services, sustainable rural development and protected áreas

Enhancing social and economic development while preserving nature is one of the major challenges for humankind in the current century. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment showed an alarming degradation of ecosystems and exacerbated poverty for many groups of people across the world due to unprecedented changes in ecosystems caused by human activities in the 20th century. Sustainable Rural Development is key to maintaining active local communities in rural and semi-natural areas, avoiding depopulation, and preserving high-ecological-value sites, including protected areas. Establishing protected areas is the most common strategy to preserve biodiversity around the world with the advantage of promoting the supply of ecosystem services. However, depending how it affects economic opportunities and the access to natural resources, it can either attract or repel human settlements. The convergence of development and conservation requires decision-making processes capable of aligning the needs and expectations of rural communities and the goals of biodiversity conservation. The articles compiled in this Special Issue (nine research papers and two review papers) make important contributions to this challenge from different approaches, disciplines and regions in the world.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Collaborative Decision Support Tools for Water Resources Management - A Scientific Case Study of Nairobi River Catchment

Es wird ein Massenbilanzverfahren innerhalb eines Modells angewandt, das auf Einzugsgebietsebene erstellt wurde, um den aktuellen Status der Wasserbilanz festzustellen. Anschließend wird aufgezeigt, dass die Modellanwendung und Datenanalyse den Mindestanforderungen für plausible Ergebnisse entspricht. Eine Methodik wurde entwickelt, die Fachleute befähigt in Kooperation mit den Stakeholdern ein angepasstes Wasserbilanzmodell zu erstellen und anzuwenden

Structuring problems for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in practice : a literature review of method combinations

Structuring problems for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) has attracted increasing attention over the past 20 years from both a conceptual and a practical perspective. This is reflected in a significant growth in the number of published applications which use a formal approach to problem structuring in combination with an analytic method for multi-criteria analysis. The problem structuring approaches (PSMs) include general methodologies such as Checkland's Soft Systems Method (SSM), Eden and Ackermann's Strategic Options Design and Analysis (SODA) and other methods that focus on a particular aspect. We carried out a literature review that covers eight PSMs (Cognitive and Causal Maps, DPSIR, Scenario Planning, SSM, Stakeholder Analysis, Strategic Choice Approach, SODA and SWOT) and seven MCDA methods (AHP, ANP, ELECTRE, MAUT, MAVT, PROMETHEE and TOPSIS). We first identified and analysed 333 articles published during 2000-2015, then selected 68 articles covering all PSM-MCDA combinations, which were studied in detail to understand the associated processes, benefits and challenges. The three PSMs most commonly combined with MCDA are SWOT, Scenario Planning and DPSIR. AHP was by far the most commonly applied MCDA method. Combining PSMs with MCDA produces a richer view of the decision situation and enables more effective support for different phases of the decision-making process. Some limitations and challenges in combining PSMs and MCDA are also identified, most importantly relating to building a value tree and assigning criteria weights

APPLICATION OF RECLAIMED WASTEWATER FOR AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION: DEVELOPING A DECISION SUPPORT TOOL USING SPATIAL MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS

Intensified climate variability, depleting groundwater, and escalating water demand create severe stress on high-quality freshwater sources used for agricultural irrigation. These challenges necessitate the exploration of alternative water sources such as reclaimed water to reduce the pressure on freshwater sources. To do so, it is key to investigate the spatial pattern of areas that are more suitable for water reuse to determine the potential of reclaimed wastewater use for irrigation. This study provides a systematic decision-analysis framework for the decision-makers using an integrated process-based hydrologic model for sustainable agricultural water management. The outcomes of this study provide evidence of the feasibility of reclaimed wastewater use in the agricultural sector. The two objectives of this study were to: 1) identify the locations that are most suitable for the reclaimed wastewater use in agriculture (hotspots); and 2) develop the watershed-scale models to assess the agricultural water budget and crop production using different water conservation scenarios including reclaimed wastewater use. To achieve the first objective, a decision-making framework was developed by using the Geographic Information System and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (GIS-MCDA). This framework was then tested in the Southwest (California), and the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland) regions. Based on WWTPs’ proximity, sufficient water availability, and appropriate treatment process of the treated wastewater, the “Most Suitable” and “Moderately Suitable” agricultural areas were found to be approximately 145.5 km2, and 276 km2 for California and, 26.4 km2 and 798.8 km2 for Maryland, respectively. These results were then used to develop the hydrologic models to examine water conservation and water reuse scenarios under real-world conditions, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). In California, the combination of auto irrigation (AI) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) resulted in higher WP for both almond and grape (> 0.50 kg/m3). Results also suggested that the wastewater reuse in almond and grape irrigation could reduce groundwater consumption more than 74% and 90% under RDI and AI scenarios, respectively. For Maryland, model simulations suggested that the green water productivity (only rainfall) can be improved up to 0.713 kg/m3 for corn and 0.37 kg/m3 for soybean under the reclaimed wastewater use scenario

After The Flood: Exploring The Influence Of Risk Perception And Decision Criteria Preference On Flood Mitigation In The Lake Champlain Richelieu River Basin

In April of 2011, heavy rainfall paired with snow melt from the Green and Adirondack Mountains caused unprecedented flooding in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River (LCRR) basin. A study was subsequently convened by the International Joint Commission (IJC), and was tasked with identifying how flood forecasting, preparedness, and mitigation could be improved in order to reduce the impact of flooding in this transboundary watershed, and build the greater community’s resilience to flooding. A component of this study includes an assessment of the social acceptability and political feasibility of potential flood mitigation measures, which was in part carried out through the development and administration of a survey that assessed how residents of the LCRR basin perceive risk and engage with criteria used to make decisions regarding flood mitigation.The objective of this research is to provide insight into how members of the public in the LCRR basin consider flood risk and flood mitigation, and how those perceptions impact the feasibility of various flood mitigation measures, and can point policymakers in directions that are socially acceptable. To set the stage for the applied nature of this study, this thesis begins with an introduction to the operationalization of flood management research. That is followed by a review of relevant literature, including theories related to resilience of social-ecological systems, disaster resilience, and natural hazard risk perception. The third chapter of this thesis offers a case study of the social, political, and economic implications of the spring 2011 floods in the LCRR basin. Two articles are then presented. The first article uses the results of a household risk perception survey (N=151) designed and administered in 2019 to primarily investigate how flood experience, adoption of flood preparedness measures, and opinions regarding flood mitigation measures impact perceptions of flood risk. Socioeconomic and geographic variables are also considered. Findings indicate that perceptions of flood risk are primarily based on prior flood experiences, rather than dependent of characteristics that make respondents more vulnerable to flooding. Additionally, there are disconnects between perceptions of flood risk and likelihood of adopting preparedness measures, and where respondents get information versus who they trust for that information. In the second article, the results of a multi-criteria decision analysis from the same household risk perception survey are investigated. Respondents engaged with nine decision criteria, provided by the study, through ranking and scoring exercises. Results were assessed through a process called Technique for Ordered Preference Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), where the ranks and scores were weighted and normalized. Respondents were broken into a variety of clusters, and their ranks were assessed in comparison with other clusters. Findings indicate that respondents primarily preferred criteria which indicated altruistic outcomes from flood mitigation measures, although later rankings indicated significant variation based on demographic characteristics, geographic location, and flood experiences. This thesis concludes with a summary, policy implications, and recommendations for future research. A further investigation into the value of flood early warning systems is provided, in addition to an agenda for exploring these concepts more deeply

Joint stakeholder decision-making on the management of the Silao-Romita aquifer using AHP

Over-exploitation and pollution have been identified as the main problems facing the Silao-Romita aquifer in Guanajuato, Mexico. The objective of this paper is to analyze the current situation, characterized by a clear lack of legislative enforcement, dispersion of competences, and scarcity of economic resources, in order to establish a new prioritization of action plans, and choose from among three specific management options. One of the main challenges when addressing these problems in a holistic manner is the conflicting viewpoints of the sectors involved. As each stakeholder has a different perception, there is a clear need for appropriate mechanisms to reach a consensus in decision-making. To achieve the objective, we use the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), because of its flexibility and the availability of mathematical axiomatic principles and techniques to obtain group preferences and priorities. In addition, we use several tools developed by the authors to obtain consistency, streamline the trade-off between stakeholder know-how and synthetic consistency, and consistently complete partial judgments given by some of the stakeholders. The problem of obtaining a consensus among the actors involved regarding criteria and alternatives is also considered. The obtained results are intended to serve as guidelines for conducting priority actions to help solve the general problem of the study area, and to identify the management model that best meets the needs of the aquifer, according to the actors involved. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This work has been supported by project IDAWAS, DPI2009-11591 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation; with supplementary support from ACOMP/2011/188 of the education department of the Generalitat Valenciana. The first author wishes to thank CONACYT for the 10007-2011-01 scholarship program. The use of English in this paper was revised by John Rawlins.Delgado Galván, XV.; Izquierdo Sebastián, J.; Benítez López, J.; Pérez García, R. (2014). Joint stakeholder decision-making on the management of the Silao-Romita aquifer using AHP. Environmental Modelling & Software. 51:310-322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.10.008S3103225

Modeling: Enabler for Sustainable Water Supply & Demand Management (An Overview)

Water supply and demand management (WSDM) is only effective when tackled with holistic system understanding considering social, economic, hydrological, and economic sub-systems. System Dynamics Model (SDM), also known as System Dynamics (SD), which is a Systems Thinking Approach (STA), is actively used for this purpose by water resource analysts. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the application of SDM to water supply and demand management, with a focus on groundwater (GW) sustainability. Further, the quantitative models used in conjunction with SDM are explored. Over sixty nine papers spanning over the last 20 years were analyzed. The quantitative models complemented the SDM includes Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), Bayesian Networking (BN), Analytical Hierarchy Approach (AHP), simulation-optimization M-Objective Optimization (MOO) and solved using Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle-Swarm-Optimization (PSO) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II). Although Climate change significantly affects water management strategies, this study revealed that only 51% of the reviewed articles considered it, while the problem conceptualization using the Causal-Loop-Diagram (CLD) is performed by only 58% of the studies. Moreover, 70% of the reviewed articles used the Stock-Flow-Diagram (SFD) to perform the quantitative system analysis. Stakeholder engagement plays a significant role in understanding the consumers’ core issues and divergent views and needs but is incorporated by only 36% of the studies. The key findings for sustainable development in terms of water resource management included, per capita water reduction, water conservation through public awareness campaigns, usage of treated wastewater, adoption of efficient irrigation practices including drip irrigation, cultivation of low33 water consuming crops in water-stressed regions, and regulations to control groundwater over34 exploitation. In future work, developing a hybrid SDM-Optimization framework is suggested to simulate and optimize the dynamic socio-economic interactions and help policymakers devise strategic water planning and management policies that ensure sustainable development