Application of multi attribute decision making methods to resources allocation problems

Operation of over shared resources (water, gas, oil, and mineral reserves) has been one the most significant challenges of states. “Fair” and “efficient” national resources reallocation among stakeholders and states is a complex conflict problem that faces this fundamental question: which criteria and mechanisms should be taken into account for this reallocation? In this paper, we propose a risk-based Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methodology to select the most appropriate mechanism for reallocation of the reserves of the Caspian Sea with respect to several quantitative and qualitative criteria. Caspian Sea is a sea with five claimants that border it, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method is used to evaluate the effects of risk attitude of the decision makers on the final outcome in resources reallocation. Results indicate that risk-based MADM methods are well suited tools to resolve conflicts in natural resources reallocation problemsWater ManagementCivil Engineering and Geoscience