Comparing the Subjective and the Objective Criteria Weighting in Agricultural Water Resources Management (original) (raw)

Multi Criteria Decision Making in Water Resources Management

2014

Background: Today, using multi-criteria decision making, there is no more need to solely apply financial and profitable amount, but several indicators (as quantitative and qualitative criteria) such as political, social and environmental criteria could be used to select the best choice. Objective: In this study two different models are used for optimal planning of Iran's water resources of Zarrin-Gol basin (as a case study). Results: a model of water resource programming via WEAP software was selected. Options for decision making in sections of resource management and the basin consumption were implemented to the model and the results obtained from the output of WEAP were compared to each other. Plan options were chosen so that considering the facilities and potential of the basin it could be accountable for important values and standards of managers and beneficiaries. After modeling decision-making options, seven major standards in water resource issues were selected and weighted using Entropy technique. Conclusion: the decision alternatives were evaluated according to these criteria in the form of a decision matrix. Finally, using TOPSIS model as a multi criteria decision making model, the options were scored and the best option was selected from among the available options. The results suggest that the increase in summer cultivation of agricultural network in the region was selected as the preferred option, suggesting more attention to the summer cultivation and the possibility of further development in the agricultural sector in the basic plan.

Integrated strategic planning and multi-criteria decision-making framework with its application to agricultural water management

Scientific Reports

Sustainable water resources management involves social, economic, environmental, water use, and resources factors. This study proposes a new framework of strategic planning with multi-criteria decision-making to develop sustainable water management alternatives for large scale water resources systems. A fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model is developed to rank regional management alternatives for agricultural water management considering water-resources sustainability criteria. The decision-making model combines hierarchical analysis and the fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The management alternatives were presented spatially in the form of zoning maps at the level of irrigation zones of the study area. The results show that the irrigation management zone No.3 (alternative A3) was ranked first based on agricultural water demand and supply management in five among seven available scenarios, in which the scenarios represents a pos...

Fuzzy Multiple Attribute Decision Making on Water Resources Projects Case Study: Ranking Water Transfers to Zayanderud Basin in Iran

Water International, 2007

In this study, in order to create a decision-making model on water resources projects, a hierarchy of criteria has been developed by public participation. The Value Management methodology has been used for extraction of the effective criteria and attributes in the scope of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). The hierarchy is generic for water resources management in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Since the evaluations of alternatives with respect to some attributes are uncertain and vague, fuzzy set theory has been used. By merging fuzzy set theory and multi-attribute decision-making a new Decision Support System (DSS), namely FDM, has been developed to compare different alternatives. As an innovation, FDM accepts evaluations of alternatives with respect to the attributes as crisp variables, fuzzy variables, and linguistic variables. FDM embodies an expert system whose duty is to choose an appropriate method among the SAW, Fuzzy SAW, TOPSIS or Fuzzy TOPSIS based on the characteristics of the problem. The central and Southeastern regions of Iran are considered arid regions, suffering from water shortages. In this paper, water transfers to the Zayanderud basin in Iran have been modeled by FDM. Successful application of this DSS in this study allows for its application by water authorities in other case studies.

An Integrated Multicriteria Analysis Tool for Evaluating Water Resource Management Strategies

Water is involved, directly or indirectly, with many activities and needs that have to be met. The large scale and importance of water projects, the investments needed, the difficulty in predicting the results, and the irreversible character of the decisions have made decision making a complex scientific process. This paper presents a multicriteria analysis (MCA) tool for evaluating water resource management (WRM) strategies and selecting the most appropriate among them, using as an example a Greek area based on agricultural economy, which faces water scarcity problems. Seven alternative strategies were evaluated under hydrological and economic criteria. Four techniques were used-multi attribute utility theory (MAUT), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), elimination and choice expressing reality (ELECTRE), and technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)-based on the main MCA techniques (utility theory, analytical hierarchy, outranking theory, and classification theory, respectively), to compare their performance, and to reach the most appropriate and 'fitting' method for the examined problem. The weightings extracted from two samples, (i) a sample of decision makers/stakeholders and (ii) a group of WRM experts, were used to compare the results. The process was carried out for each questionnaire, and thus the model shows the uncertainty of each sample group and of each method, as well as the overall uncertainty. The results illustrate the reality of the WRM problems of the watershed, enlighten their roots, and have further strengthened our conviction that the cooperation between the scientific community and the authorities is vital for more sustainable and efficient WRM.

Experimental Evaluation of Multiple Criteria Decision Models for Application to Water Resources PLANNING1

JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 1992

ABSTRACT: A research project was undertaken for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to determine the relative utility and effectiveness of four well‐known multicriteria decision making (MCDM) models for applications in realistic water resources planning settings. A series of experiments was devised to examine the impact of rating and ranking procedures on the decision making behavior of users (e.g., planners, managers, analysts, etc.) when faced with situations involving multiple evaluation criteria and numerous alternative planning projects. The four MCDM models tested were MATS‐PC, EXPERT CHOICE, ARIADNE, and ELECTRE.Two groups of analysts and decision makers were tested. One group consisted of experienced U.S. Army Corps planners, while the other was comprised of graduate students. Based on a series of nonparametric statistical tests, the results identified EXPERT CHOICE as the preferred MCDM model by both groups based largely on ease of use and understandability. ARIADNE fostered t...

Multi-criteria decision making for water resource management: a case study of the Gediz River Basin, Turkey

Water S.A

In this study, a water resource management model that facilitates indicator-based decisions, with respect to environmental, social and economic dimensions in a multiple criteria perspective, is developed for the Gediz River Basin in Turkey. The basic input of the proposed model is the quantity of surface water that is mainly allocated to irrigation purposes. The model has been applied under 3 different hydro-meteorological scenarios that reflect baseline as well as better and worse condi-tions of water supply and demand, not only to reach a comprehensive assessment of the water budget in the Gediz Basin, but also to evaluate the impacts of proposed management alternatives under different conditions. The Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) software is used as a simulation and evaluation tool to assess the performance of possible management alternatives; performance is measured by 9 indicators representing economic, social and environmental sustainability. The study has delineated th...

Decision making for produced water management: an integrated multi-criteria approach

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2013

Developments of effective produced water (PW) management strategies pose a challenge to the offshore petroleum industry. In this study three PW minimisation systems: down hole oil-water separation (A 1), chemical water shut off (A 2) and mechanical water shut-off (A 3) were evaluated based on fourteen pre-selected criteria from environment, cost and technical point of view. Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was integrated with Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) algorithm to solve the decision matrix. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to determine the sensitivity of the evaluation results.

Multi-criteria decision making methods for rural water supply: a case study from Bangladesh

Water Policy, 2015

Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) is a process of evaluating alternatives against relevant decision making criteria. Several methods are available to facilitate the evaluation steps. This paper deals with a rural water supply problem in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Three different MCDM methods – weighted summation, analytical hierarchy process, and novel approach to imprecise assessment and decision environments – were used to evaluate the suitable water supply alternative. The ranking of alternatives obtained from these MCDM techniques produced similar results. Among five water supply alternatives evaluated, rainwater harvesting systems and deep tube wells scored first and second, respectively, for all three evaluation methods. In addition, sensitivity analyses were carried out for the MCDM techniques and these results did not show drastic variations either. This finding implies that while selection of MCDM technique is important, when evaluating similar problems more em...

Multiple-criteria decision making for integrated watershed management in the Ramian watershed, Golestan, Iran

iemss.org

This research has concentrated on the physical and socio-economic impacts of vegetation-based management scenarios targeting on flooding and soil erosion issues in the Ramian sub-watersheds. The Ramian watershed with an approximate area of 24000 ha is located in Golestan, Iran. For each sub-watershed, four biological actions (activities) and 16 management scenarios have been considered. Physical impacts have been studied using the SCS (Soil Conservation Service) hydrologic model and the EPM (Erosion Potential Method) model. Economic and social impacts have been evaluated using the cost/benefit analysis as well as the examination of the results of a social survey. Some physical, social, and economic indices were chosen and quantified. The indices then were standardised using the interval standardisation technique. Best scenarios were determined using a multiple-criteria decision making technique. To weight the indices, four perspectives were used. For the first three perspectives one of the physical, social and economic criteria were assigned higher weights while for the fourth perspective all criteria were given the same weight. Trade-off analysis of the results indicates that for most sub-watersheds more than one single management solution can be recommended on the basis of the different perspectives. The results showed that the multiple-criteria decision making serves as a valuable tool to represent the watershed system as a whole, to incorporate output from models and expert-judgments to examine the trade-offs among outcomes necessary to decision making and to communicate uncertainty of the parameters.

A New Approach To Multi-Criteria Decision Making in Water Resources

Spatial comparison of floodplain management alternatives in a raster GIS environment is conceptualized as a multi criteria decision making problem. A spatial MCDM technique is developed by combining the conventional Compromise Programming technique with GIS technology. This new technique is referred to herein as Spatial Compromise Programming (SCP). The main contribution of the proposed technique is its ability to address uneven spatial distribution of criteria values in the evaluation and ranking of alternatives. SCP is used to determine the best alternative for each geographic location within the region of interest. The analysis of floodplain management strategies for the Red River Valley region is chosen as a case study to illustrate application of the Spatial Compromise Programming technique.