Complementary use of the Ecosystem Service Concept and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis in Water Management

AbstractThe ecosystem service (ES) concept has increasingly been applied in environmental planning, while there are several decades of experience in applying multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) in complex planning situations. The aim of this article is to assess how the ES concept has been used in water management projects together with MCDA and to examine the experiences gained and make recommendations to overcome any identified challenges. Our conclusions are based on a systematic analysis of 23 articles that were selected among 206 articles focused on water-related studies using, for example, the terms multi-criteria and ecosystem services in the title, abstract or keywords. Here, we explore (i) at what level of detail ESs are included in the decision hierarchy, (ii) the pros and cons of the complementary use of the two approaches, and (iii) how the potential challenges related to the use of MCDA, such as the large number of criteria, double-counting, or assigning criteria weights, are addressed in the selected cases. The results reveal large differences between the case studies. It is shown that only a few case studies used ES categories to classify criteria in the decision hierarchy, that these cases included different numbers of ES criteria and non-ES criteria, and that most case studies elicited stakeholder preferences in MCDA. Although the paper focuses on water management projects, the conclusions regarding the advantages and pitfalls of the complementary use of the methods, as well as our recommendations, are also applicable to other environmental management contexts.

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Designating Appropriate Areas for Determining Potential Rainwater Harvesting in Arid Region Using a GIS-based Multi-criteria Decision Analysis ‏

10.21203/rs.3.rs-901829/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohamed Abd-el-Kader ◽

Ahmed Elfeky ◽

Mohamed Saber ◽

Maged AlHarbi ◽

abed Alataway

Keyword(s):

Water Management ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Decision Analysis ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Flash Flood ◽

Flood Hazard ◽

Flash Floods ◽

Flood Mitigation ◽

Water Harvesting ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis

Abstract Flash floods are highly devastating, however there is no effective management for their water in Saudi Arabia, therefore, it is crucial to adopt Rainfall Water Harvesting (RWH) techniques to mitigate the flash floods and manage the available water resources from the infrequent and rare rainfall storms. The goal of this study is to create a potential flood hazard map and a map of suitable locations for RWH in Wadi Nisah, Saudi Arabia for future water management and flood prevention plans and to identify potential areas for rainwater harvesting and dam construction for both a flood mitigation and water harvesting. This research was carried out using a spatiotemporal distributed model based on multi-criteria decision analysis by combining Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making tools (MCDM). The flood hazard mapping criteria were elevation, drainage density, slope, direct runoff depth at 50 years return period, Topographic witness index, and Curve Number, according to the Multi-criteria decision analysis, while the criteria for RWH were Slope, Land cover, Stream order, Lineaments density, and Average of annual max-24hr Rainfall. The weight of each criteria was estimated based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). In multi-criteria decision analysis, 21.55 % of the total area for Wadi Nisah was classified as extremely dangerous and dangerous; 65.29 % of the total area was classified as moderate; and 13.15 % of the total area was classified as safe and very safe in flash flood hazard classes. Only 15% of Wadi Nisah has a very high potentiality for RWH and 27.7%, 57.31% of the basin has a moderate and a low or extremely low potentiality of RWH, respectively. According to the developed RWH potentiality map, two possible dam sites were proposed. The maximum height of the proposed dams, which corresponded to the cross section of dam locations, ranged from 6.2 to 9 meters; the maximum width of dams ranged from 573.48 to 725 meters; the maximum storage capacity of reservoirs, which corresponded to the distribution of topographic conditions in the surrounding area, ranged from 3976104.499 m3 to 4328509.123 m3; and the maximum surface area of reservoirs ranged from 1268372.625 m2 to 1505825.676.14 m2. These results are highly important for the decision makers for not only flash flood mitigation but also water management in the study area.

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Bridging the gap between ecosystem service assessments and land-use planning through Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA)

Environmental Science & Policy ◽

10.1016/j.envsci.2016.02.013 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 62 ◽

pp. 45-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 94

Author(s):

Johannes Langemeyer ◽

Erik Gómez-Baggethun ◽

Dagmar Haase ◽

Sebastian Scheuer ◽

Thomas Elmqvist

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Decision Analysis ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis

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Multi-criteria decision analysis methods to support sustainable infrastructure construction

IABSE Symposium, Guimarães 2019: Towards a Resilient Built Environment Risk and Asset Management ◽

10.2749/guimaraes.2019.1084 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kristine Ek ◽

Alexandre Mathern ◽

Rasmus Rempling ◽

Lars Rosén ◽

Christina Claeson-Jonsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Sustainability Assessment ◽

Assessment Methods ◽

Infrastructure Projects ◽

Sustainable Infrastructure ◽

Procurement Process ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Infrastructure Project ◽

Negative Impacts

<p>The construction of infrastructure projects represents a large sustainability impact, both positive and negative. Increased positive and reduced negative impacts can be achieved through better design and planning of the construction. To make more sustainable choices, well-defined predictive sustainability assessment methods are required. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a well- suited method for predictive sustainability assessment. This paper evaluates two MCDA methods for sustainability assessment of infrastructure construction and exemplifies their application with two case studies. The aim of this paper is to discuss if the methods are suitable for identifying the most sustainable alternative during the procurement process of an infrastructure project. It is recommended that MCDA methods are further developed to comply with the recently published EN standard on sustainability assessment of civil engineering works.</p>

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Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to identify dryland ecosystem service trade-offs under different rangeland land uses

Ecosystem Services ◽

10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.12.005 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 ◽

pp. 142-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

N. Favretto ◽

L.C. Stringer ◽

A.J. Dougill ◽

M. Dallimer ◽

J.S. Perkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Analysis ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Land Uses ◽

Service Trade ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Trade Offs

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Multi-criteria decision analysis in Bayesian networks - Diagnosing ecosystem service trade-offs in a hydropower regulated river

Environmental Modelling & Software ◽

10.1016/j.envsoft.2019.104604 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 124 ◽

pp. 104604 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

David N. Barton ◽

Håkon Sundt ◽

Ana Adeva Bustos ◽

Hans-Petter Fjeldstad ◽

Richard Hedger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bayesian Networks ◽

Decision Analysis ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Regulated River ◽

Service Trade ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Trade Offs

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A survey of applications of multi-criteria decision analysis methods in mine planning and related case studies

Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy ◽

10.17159/2411-9717/2016/v116n11a7 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 116 (11) ◽

pp. 1051-1056 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.J. Mahase

Keyword(s):

Decision Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Mine Planning ◽

Related Case ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Analysis Methods

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La conservazione del patrimonio naturale e paesaggistico mediante la valorizzazione dei servizi ecosistemici offerti dal territorio: considerazioni generali e casi di studio

I servizi ecosistemici nella pianificazione bioregionale - Territori ◽

10.36253/978-88-5518-050-4.13 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 105-113

Author(s):

Leonardo Lombardi

Keyword(s):

Ecosystem Services ◽

Case Studies ◽

Ecosystem Service ◽

Environmental Planning ◽

Ecological State ◽

Service Paradigm

Pragmatically, the same “utilitarian” vision underlying the ecosystem service paradigm seems to allow an easier understanding by large portions of society of the need to keep the ecosystems in an efficient ecological state, as shown by a series of case studies. Therefore, forms of conservation/biodiversity finance are illustrated, aimed at supporting ecosystem services, and scenarios of integration of the analysis and management of these services at the various levels of environmental planning and evaluation are presented.

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Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for transdisciplinary co-design of the FANFAR flood forecasting and alert system in West Africa

10.5194/hess-2021-177 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Judit Lienert ◽

Jafet Andersson ◽

Daniel Hofmann ◽

Francisco Silva Pinto ◽

Martijn Kuller

Keyword(s):

West Africa ◽

Decision Analysis ◽

System Performance ◽

Flood Forecasting ◽

West African ◽

Problem Structuring Methods ◽

Alert System ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Stakeholder Preferences ◽

System Configurations

Abstract. Climate change is projected to increase flood risks in West Africa. The EU Horizon 2020 project FANFAR co-designed a pre-operational flood forecasting and alert system for West Africa in three lively workshops with 50–60 stakeholders, adopting a transdisciplinary framework from Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). We aimed to (i) exemplify MCDA as a structured transdisciplinary process; (ii) prioritize suitable FANFAR system configurations; and (iii) document and discuss empirical evidence. We used various interactive problem structuring methods in stakeholder sessions to generate 10 objectives and design 11 FANFAR system configurations. The non-additive MCDA model combined expert predictions about system performance with stakeholder preferences elicited in group sessions. All groups preferred a system producing accurate, clear, and accessible flood risk information that reaches recipients well before floods. To receive this, most groups would trade off higher operation and maintenance costs, development time, and implementing several languages. We accounted for uncertainty in expert predictions with Monte Carlo simulation. Sensitivity analyses tested the results’ robustness for changing MCDA aggregation models and diverging stakeholder preferences. Despite many uncertainties, three FANFAR system configurations achieved 63–70 % of the ideal case over all objectives in all stakeholder groups, and outperformed other options in cost-benefit visualizations. Stakeholders designed these best options to work reliably under difficult West African conditions rather than incorporating many advanced features. The current FANFAR system combines important features increasing system performance. Most respondents of a small online survey are satisfied, and willing to use the system in future. We discuss our learning drawing from design principles of transdisciplinary research. We attempted to over-come “unbalanced ownership” and “insufficient legitimacy” by including key West African institutions as consortium partners and carrying out co-design workshops with mandated representatives from 17 countries. MCDA overcomes challenges such as “lack of technical integration”, or “vagueness and ambiguity of results”. Whether FANFAR will have a “societal impact” depends on long term financing and system uptake by West African institutions after termination of EU sponsoring. We hope that our promising results will have a “scientific impact” and motivate further stakeholder engagement in hydrology research.

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A Novel MS Excel Tool for Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Energy Systems

10.4018/978-1-6684-4012-4.ch003 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 83-109

Author(s):

K. S. Sastry Musti ◽

Marcio Van der Merwe

Keyword(s):

Decision Analysis ◽

Case Studies ◽

Energy Systems ◽

Data Repository ◽

Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽

Significant Interest ◽

User Friendly ◽

Computational Processes

Application of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods to various aspects of energy systems is of significant interest. This chapter first proposes a simple yet user-friendly MS-Excel tool with four popular MCDA methods. The tool can be effectively used to apply MCDA techniques and to determine the rankings for the alternatives. This MS-Excel tool is made available on Mendeley data repository. The chapter explains the overall MCDA computational processes, algorithms, and provides details on using the tool itself with the help of two case studies to demonstrate its effectiveness and applicability.

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