Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis: Environmental Applications and Case Studies

Environmental management is often complicated and multidisciplinary and the issues that arise can be difficult to solve analytically. Often, decision makers take ad hoc approaches, which may result in the ignoring of important stakeholder opinions or decision criteria. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) provides a framework by which these types of decisions can be made but, despite being used effectively in many fields, it is not often used in environmental management.

Given the novelty and inherent applicability of this decision making framework to the environmental field, there is a need for more teaching tools for MCDA. In particular, there is a need for a case study based approach to help readers navigate the many MCDA methods and decide how to apply them to a specific case.

Through a collection of case studies, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis: Environmental Applications and Case Studies gives readers the tools to apply cutting-edge MCDA methods to their own environmental projects. It offers an overview of the types of MCDA available and a conceptual framework of how it is applied, with the focus on its applicability for environmental science.

Taking an in-depth look at the case of sediment management, the book introduces different steps of MCDA processes—from problem formulation and model development to criteria weighing and alternative scoring. The authors then explore the case using various MCDA methods, which allows readers to see clearly how the methodologies differ and gain a better understanding of the mechanistic operation of the analysis.

A series of case studies in nanotechnology collectively demonstrate the application of MCDA in situations of high variability and uncertainty that require the integration of technical information and expert judgment—an area where MCDA clearly shines. The authors describe multiple decisions—from risk classification to value of information analysis to the assessment of potential research and funding investments—that readers may face in dealing with emerging environmental threats.

Demonstrating the broad applicability of MCDA methods for different types of cases, the book presents a series of case studies ranging from oyster restoration to oil spill response. In conjunction with these cases, the book also provides corresponding decision models that are implemented by the DECERNS software and allow users to examine the same case using multiple MCDA tools. The DECERNS software and models are available for download at www.crcpress.com.

Intended both as a research and teaching tool, this book inspires creative thinking when applying MCDA to complicated environmental issues.

Dr. Igor Linkov is a Research Scientist and Risk and Decision Science Focus Area Lead with the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and Adjunct Professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Linkov has managed multiple ecological and human health risk assessments and risk management projects, including application of state-of-the-science modeling and software tools to highly complex sites—among them the Hudson River, Dow Midland, Natick Soldier Systems Command, and Elizabeth Mine—and projects such as restoration and remediation planning, nanotechnology, and risk-based prioritization of engineering projects. He has published widely on environmental policy, environmental modeling, and risk analysis, including twelve books and over 150 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Dr. Linkov has organized more than 40 national and international conferences and continuing education workshops on risk assessment, decision analysis, environmental security, risk communication, nanotechnology, and modeling. The Governor of Massachusetts has appointed Dr. Linkov to serve as a Scientific Advisor to the Toxic Use Reduction Institute. Dr. Linkov is also the recipient of the 2005 SRA Chauncey Starr Award for his exceptional contribution to risk analysis and a 2010 US Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service.

Emily Moberg is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying Biological Oceanography. Her undergraduate work was in Environmental Engineering and her interests lie in environmental processes and ecology. She has done work at the University of Pennsylvania, with the US Army Corps of Engineers, and at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her work with the US Army Corps of Engineers has allowed her to focus more on risk analysis and the management of environmental concerns, which she hopes to apply later in her career.