Integrating Stakeholder Preferences and GIS-Based Multicriteria Analysis to Identify Forest Landscape Restoration Priorities

A pressing question that arises during the planning of an ecological restoration process is: where to restore first? Answering this question is a complex task; it requires a multidimensional approach to consider economic constrains and the preferences of stakeholders. Being the problem of spatial na...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Geneletti, Davide, del Castillo, Rafael F., Orsi, Francesco
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:México
Institución:Instituto Politécnico Nacional
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital del IPN
OAI Identifier:oai:www.repositoriodigital.ipn.mx:123456789/18911
Acceso en línea:http://www.repositoriodigital.ipn.mx/handle/123456789/18911
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Stakeholder
Forest Landscape
Multicriteria Analysis
Descripción
Sumario:A pressing question that arises during the planning of an ecological restoration process is: where to restore first? Answering this question is a complex task; it requires a multidimensional approach to consider economic constrains and the preferences of stakeholders. Being the problem of spatial nature, it may be explored effectively through Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) performed in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment. The proposed approach is based on the definition and weighting of multiple criteria for evaluating land suitability. An MCDA-based methodology was used to identify priority areas for Forest Landscape Restoration in the Upper Mixtec region, Oaxaca (Mexico), one of the most degraded areas of Latin America. Socioeconomic and environmental criteria were selected and evaluated. The opinions of four different stakeholder groups were considered: general public, academic, Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental officers. The preferences of these groups were spatially modeled to identify their priorities. The final result was a map that identifies the most preferable sites for restoration, where resources and efforts should be concentrated. MCDA proved to be a very useful tool in collective planning, when alternative sites have to be identified and prioritized to guide the restoration work.