Applying voting theory in participatory decision support for sustainable timber harvesting
- 1 July 2004
- journal article
- Published by Canadian Science Publishing in Canadian Journal of Forest Research
- Vol. 34 (7), 1511-1524
- https://doi.org/10.1139/x04-044
Abstract
Several multi-criteria decision support methods have been introduced to sustainable management of natural resources, but different methods suit different planning situations. One way to support decision-making is to apply voting theory. In this study, a multi-criteria decision-support method based on voting theory, called multicriteria approval (MA), is applied to wood supply chain management in a forest area owned by the state of Finland. The area is called Leikko and is located in the rural municipality of Pieksämäki. MA seems to have some promising features in relation to participatory decision support. The most essential advantages are its ease and comprehensibility. MA is also able to deal with ordinal and imprecise information. Since the method does not demand much preference information from interest groups, the inquiries may be conducted using the Internet. In the case study, nine timber-harvesting alternatives were devised for the forest area. The study involved seven interest groups, whose representatives defined seven criteria by which the alternatives were compared. The purpose was to find a consensus or compromise solution for a practical harvesting schedule. Two different versions of MA were tested and compared from the participatory decision-support aspect. Usability and ease of method, the comprehensibility of the inquiries, and the congruence of the results were examined.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Social Choice in the South Seas: Electoral Innovation and the Borda Count in the Pacific Island CountriesInternational Political Science Review, 2002
- Applying voting theory in natural resource management: a case of multiple-criteria group decision supportJournal of Environmental Management, 2002
- GroupWare and group decision support systems for wood procurement organisation. A reviewSilva Fennica, 2002
- MCDM methods in strategic planning of forestry on state‐owned lands in Finland: applications and experiencesJournal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, 2001
- Outranking methods as tools in strategic natural resources planningSilva Fennica, 2001
- Social choice procedures in water-resource managementJournal of Environmental Management, 1998
- An application of social choice theory to U.S.D.A. forest service decision makingJournal of Policy Modeling, 1996
- Transitions in land use and the problems of planning: a case study from the mountainlands of New ZealandJournal of Environmental Management, 1995
- Approval VotingAmerican Political Science Review, 1978
- A scaling method for priorities in hierarchical structuresJournal of Mathematical Psychology, 1977