Social Multi-criteria Evaluation Research Articles

Avaliação de Políticas Sustentáveis

Sustainability policy evaluation and assessment seeks to answer the key question, sustainability of what and whom? Consequently, sustainability issues are multidimensional in nature and feature a high degree of conflict, uncertainty and complexity. Social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) has been explicitly designed for public policies; it builds on formal modelling techniques whose main achievement is the fact that the use of different evaluation criteria translates directly into plurality of values and dimensions underpinning a policy process. SMCE aims at being inter/multi-disciplinary (with respect to the technical team), participatory (with respect to the community) and transparent. SMCE can help deal with three different types of sustainability-related policy issues: 1) epistemological uncertainty (human representation of a given policy problem necessarily reflects perceptions, values and interests of those structuring the problem); 2) complexity (the existence of different levels and scales at which a hierarchical system can be analyzed implies the unavoidable existence of non-equivalent descriptions of it both in space and time); and 3) mathematical manipulation rules of relevant information (compensability versus non-compensability, preference modelling of intensities of preference, mixed information on criterion scores, weights as trade-offs versus weights as importance coefficients, choice of a proper ranking algorithm). This paper focuses on the these three issues and provides an overview of the SMCE approaches to them.

Social multi-criteria evaluation for managing biodiversity conservation conflicts

Land use changes are among the primary drivers of declining biodiversity. To reverse this decline, governments and agencies are promoting conservation measures. However, these initiatives often lead to conservation conflicts associated with competing land uses. This study analyzes the potential for using the Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) framework to manage conservation conflicts in multifunctional landscapes with competing land demands. On the basis of lessons learned from a real conservation conflict within the European Natura 2000, the largest network of protected areas in the world, this article provides guidance on how to develop holistic and inclusive processes that consider the multiple dimensions of conflicts. The SMCE framework offers a structured approach for dealing with incommensurate values, addressing trade-offs and their impacts on affected parties. Under this framework, transparent and inclusive decision-making processes are heralded as key factors for managing conservation conflicts and searching for equitable and sustainable solutions.

Social multi-criteria evaluation of land-use scenarios in the Chaco Salteño: Complementing the three-pillar sustainability approach with environmental justice

The increase in deforestation in Latin America is generating a great number of land-use conflicts. Diverse stakeholders, such as large-scale producers, indigenous people and small-scale famers, compete for land and contest its use. We applied the methodological framework of social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) as it addresses one of the main problems confronted in land-use planning: the conflicting perceptions on what a land-use plan should achieve and how. The paper presents a SMCE of different land-use scenarios in the Argentinean Chaco, using two sets of criteria: one reflecting issues of sustainability and one tackling environmental justice.We found that the scenario envisioned by indigenous people is the most sustainable as well as environmentally just, followed by the family agriculture scenario. The findings further point to the strongly negative impact of the development scenario as well as the business as usual scenario. The results also suggest that the two sets of criteria complement each other. In the sustainability approach inequality is often only tackled through one criterion looking at distributional aspects, whereas environmental justice also accounts for issues of recognition and procedure. In a world, which is increasingly unequal, it is more important than ever to account for justice. Overall, the SMCE allows displaying the high environmental, social, cultural and economic costs of deforestation in the Argentinean Chaco, as well as the potential benefits of forest conservation in this area. Finally, our findings could assist in the creation of dialogues about alternative, more sustainable and environmentally just, futures.

Capabilities, Ecosystem Services, and Strong Sustainability through SMCE: The Case of Haren (Belgium)

The goal of this article is to develop further the promising theoretical framework that cross ecosystem services and capability approach developed by Pelenc and Ballet (2015) in a strong sustainability perspective. Given the multidimensional and deliberative aspect of Pelenc and Ballet's (2015) framework, the social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) methodology seems relevant to advance the operationalization of the former. Indeed, SMCE is a support tool used in decision-making processes for complex socio-ecological systems. This operationalization is conducted through a participatory action-research with the social movement opposing a mega-prison project in Haren, Brussels (Belgium). Our empirical and methodological results show the richness and limitations of using such a scientific apparatus to conduct action-research with social movement.

Addressing Social Sustainability in Urban Regeneration Processes. An Application of the Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation

The concept of sustainability is widely seen as fundamental to set up urban and territorial transformations. Sustainable development is a multidimensional and multi-perspective process that deals with the environmental, economic, and social dimensions, with the aim to find a balance among these. Despite this growing attention to sustainability the social perspective has been the less explored of these dimensions and only recently it is receiving consideration due the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim at creating sustainable and inclusive cities and communities. In the SDGs, specific attention is focused on the improvement of the quality of life of inhabitants through specific actions dedicated to the valorization of cultural resources, to the protection of the environment, and also to promote the involvement of the local communities in setting policies and programs. The final objective is defining projects based on the social needs shared by the communities. This paper aims at exploring the social sustainability related to urban regeneration processes with particular attention to social cohesion and community engagement. Six different urban regeneration strategies, developed for the regeneration of an urban area located in Northern Italy and based on social housing interventions, have been evaluated in accordance with their social impacts on the stakeholders involved. The paper proposes a multi-methodological approach based on the combination of the stakeholder analysis with the NAIADE (Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments) methodology, a particular type of Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation. The stakeholder analysis has been applied to identify the actors to involve in the evaluation, whereas the NAIADE methodology has been implemented for the selection of the most preferable strategy. This method allowed the assessment of the different strategies through the comparison and the mediation between the technical and the social rankings, thus considering the stakeholder preferences in the final evaluation. The final result is coherent with the initial purpose and it demonstrates that the inclusion of the stakeholder is fundamental for the achievement of a consensus solution.

Individual and Social Preferences in Participatory Multi-Criteria Evaluation

Decisions on environmental issues are complex and multidimensional as they represent multiple interests and values. Nevertheless, the ability of participatory multi-criteria methodologies to deal with this kind of problem is widely acknowledged. Traditionally, multi-criteria methods have focused more on technical issues than on the representation of participants’ preferences. In participatory processes there are questions such as who establishes the mechanisms of participation, in what terms these processes are developed and who is going to participate, which are determining factors that have not been sufficiently studied in multi-criteria analysis. This paper, in order to shed light on this gap, aims to compare the creation of social preferences under two different participatory approaches. For this purpose, two different participatory approaches are compared. On the one hand, applying the social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) method, a deliberative process is developed following the principles of deliberative democracy. On the other hand, an aggregation process of individual preferences has been developed based on information collected through surveys. Both approaches have advantages as well as constraints. Our main finding is that the information obtained through the different participatory methods is different and complementary. Therefore, we can state that both participatory methods can be enriching assessment processes.

Selection of a sustainable alternative for the reduction of chromium pollution in leather tanning wastewater

Various solutions that have been proposed to address the contamination problem of leather tanning wastewater at El Cerrito (Valle del Cauca, Colombia), have generated conflicts between stakeholders. Therefore, with the purpose of selecting a sustainable alternative for the reduction of chromium present in liquid effluents of the local tanning sector, the Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) method was used to analyze three proposed treatment options. These consisted of a physicochemical treatment based on MgO precipitation and acid re-dissolution, a biotechnological treatment with native yeasts coupled to Cleaner Production (CP) and a non-treatment option. During the evaluation, the social, economic, environmental and technical criteria considered, allowed for the selection of the biotechnology alternative, as the treatment option with the highest sustainability. The physicochemical alternative demonstrated a low acceptance while the non-treatment option proved unfeasible, by affecting the natural environment and social component and was favored only by the economic criterion

Social multi-criteria evaluation to identify appropriate disaster risk reduction measures: application to landslides in the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda

Over the past decades, the global exposure of persons and assets to natural hazards, like landslides, has increased faster than that their vulnerability has decreased. Therefore, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) made a call in 2015 for more investment in DRR. Recent studies exposed the lack of scientific evaluation data for selecting DRR measures. The objective of this research is to develop a participatory methodology for identifying appropriate DRR measures based on stakeholder groups’ perceptions. More specifically, we propose a social multi-criteria evaluation which combines a two-phased participatory multi-criteria analysis with an institutional analysis for its design and a discourse analysis for interpreting its outcomes. This method is then tested for a case study focusing on landslides in the Rwenzori Mountains region (Uganda) to illustrate both its relevance and practical challenges. The results from the case study highlight the perceived importance of the acceptability of measures above cost, feasibility and effectiveness criteria, by district and village stakeholder groups. Frequently recommended DRR actions, such as disaster risk zonation or relocation, are shown to be perceived negatively by local stakeholders despite being put forward in national policies. This study contributes to the DRR literature as it proposes a new method to support DRR-related decision-making. It also contributes to the understanding of landslide risk reduction in the Rwenzori Mountains region as it presents the first attempt to identify appropriate landslide risk reduction measures for the region.

Conflicting Values in Rural Planning: A Multifunctionality Approach through Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation

The planning of rural land depends, to a large extent, on the agreed-upon agrarian and forestry development model. Within the framework of agrarian multifunctionality, to evaluate different development alternatives and their effect on territorial planning, its multiple dimensions must be considered as well as the interests and needs of the stakeholders. This work thus addresses the comprehensive evaluation of development alternatives for the rural area of a municipality of the Basque Country (Spain) through the implementation of a multi-criteria evaluation method with social participation. The results show, firstly, the existence of trade-offs between the functions to be promoted in the various development models evaluated. Secondly, the results indicate the need to reverse recent trends in the sector and the convenience of moving towards an agro-livestock model of greater ecological and local character, independently of the followed forest model. In fact, the evaluation carried out also reveals, thirdly, the existence of more or less latent conflicts, in particular with regards to forest policy.

Conceptualizing Numbers at the Science–Policy Interface

Quantitative information is one of the means used to interface science with policy. As a consequence, much effort is invested in producing quantitative information for policy and much criticism is directed toward the use of numbers in policy. In this paper, I analyze five approaches drawn from such criticisms and propose alternative uses of quantitative information for governance: (i) valuation of ecosystem services, (ii) social multicriteria evaluation, (iii) quantification of uncertainty through the Numeral, Unit, Spread, Assessment, Pedigree approach, (iv) Quantitative Story-Telling, and (v) the heuristic use of statistics. The analysis shows the varied ways that numbers are conceptualized and how different conceptualizations matter for the science–policy interface. Alternative conceptualizations of numbers are used to challenge the model of science-speaking truth to power. Uncertainty, complexity, pluralism, malpractice, and values are mobilized to redefine the relations between science and policy. Alternative quantification may produce alternative facts, but reflexive approaches that use numbers to discuss the relevance of equity, positionality, and quality in science for policy may offer a remedy.

Mediterranean landscapes under change: Combining social multicriteria evaluation and the ecosystem services framework for land use planning

Mediterranean cultural landscapes are currently undergoing intense transformations, resulting in a polarization of land uses across an intensification-abandonment continuum. This transformation is characterized by uncertain and non-linear interactions and impacts on ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Our study focuses on a particular multifunctional Mediterranean cultural landscape composed of different land uses (i.e., dehesas, olive groves, pine forests, Mediterranean forests and scrublands) in the Sierra Morena mountain range (Jaén, Spain), which is undergoing a rapid process of land use change.In this context, the involvement of local stakeholders through participatory processes is critical for proper landscape management and decision-making. The aim of this paper is to combine Social Multicriteria Evaluation (SMCE) and ecosystem services frameworks for an assessment of likely future scenarios under different drivers of land use change, analysing how such changes would affect people living or making use of ecosystem services.Among four plausible future scenarios, the so-called “Mosaic landscape” scenario was widely recognized as the most desirable future landscape configuration for Sierra Morena, as it allows the supply of a balanced flow of ecosystem services and reduces ecosystem services trade-offs and conflicts among stakeholders. The combination of social multicriteria evaluation with the ecosystem services framework and future scenario analysis allows a robust co-creation of knowledge and provides insights pertinent to participatory management of cultural landscapes and stakeholders’ relationships through a socially relevant but also rigorous methodology.

Farmer Cooperation as a Means for Creating Local Food Systems—Potentials and Challenges

Facing the continuous loss of family-run farms across Europe, farmers are seeking new pathways to sustainability. One such pathway is involvement in local food supply systems. Often, this requires new forms of cooperation among farmers and with consumers. Little is known, however, about how this cooperation works in practice and how it might be better fostered. This paper aims to illustrate various forms of cooperation in relation to small-scale farming and the establishment of local food supply. It sheds light on challenges farmers are facing and on the potential measures they can adopt to tackle these challenges. By means of an Austrian case study, researchers applied a participatory method (Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation) and conducted workshops with farmers. Research shows that local production, processing and distribution infrastructure becomes more affordable when farmers collaborate with each other and with consumers and institutions. Furthermore, sharing and collectively developing know-how helps to optimise local farming and food supply systems. However, farmers often lack the knowledge and time to establish new collaborations and to re-organise labour, logistics and communication processes. They would benefit from the availability of cooperative schemes that help facilitate such processes and innovations.

Decision making in a complex world: Using OPTamos in a multi-criteria process for land management in the Cuitzmala watershed in Mexico

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are incentives offered to land owners or managers in exchange for practices that benefit society with ecological goods and/or services. For the success of PES schemes, the involvement of stakeholders, their needs, knowledge, and perspectives has been found beneficial. This paper presents a new approach in engaging stakeholders based on an iterative transdisciplinary framework for a Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) decision-making process. After a comprehensive review of existing options, the paper describes the development and application of a new software, OPTamos, to allow for efficient handling and processing of large volumes of quantitative and qualitative data generated from stakeholder workshops. Applied to a land use related decision in the Cuitzmala watershed, in the state of Jalisco in Mexico, the outcomes from this approach resulted in acceptable land management options for the entire area of the watershed that satisfied criteria generated by the stakeholders themselves and to finally develop an action plan.

Environmental impact of mining liabilities in water resources of Parac micro-watershed, San Mateo Huanchor district, Peru

Before environmental legislation was enforced, worldwide historical mines abandoned their operations without properly remediation and closure affecting the ecosystems. Because of its geological richness, Peru has attracted mining activities since colonial times and more than 8571 mining liabilities have been left. Pacococha and Millotingo mining liabilities are located on the banks of Aruri River, above Parac micro-watershed, from where communities of San Jose de Parac and San Antonio (San Mateo Huanchor district, Lima) take water for irrigating crops in low-flow periods. This paper reports for the first time in Peru the use of an interdisciplinary approach to examine the environmental effects of mining liabilities and small-scale mining on peasant communities. Physical and chemical methods, such as microscopy and spectrometry, were used to verify the presence of sulfides and to measure critical water quality parameters of Aruri and Rimac rivers. The ecosystem approach was applied to collect socioeconomic information from both communities; social actors and their statements regarding tailing problems were identified by social multi-criteria evaluation. It was found that the tailings contained sulfides that provide arsenic, cadmium, copper, zinc and manganese to Aruri and Rimac rivers in levels that exceed State of Oregon (USA) standard limits. It was also observed that both communities use this water to irrigate potato and alfalfa crops, well-known bioaccumulators. The tailings were classified as high risk to the environment by the Peruvian General Direction of Mining; however, future remediation remains uncertain due to a judicial dispute.

A social multi-criteria evaluation approach to assess extractive and non-extractive scenarios in Ecuador: Intag case study

The expansion of the mining extraction frontier in Latin America is fomenting a growing number of conflicts where contrasting views regarding the economic, environmental, social and cultural implications of developing mining activities are deployed by affected communities, governments and mining companies. Hegemonic discourses led by governments stress the contribution of extractive activities to the overall national interest de-legitimating critical views and the concerns of local actors.This paper explores the potential of social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) approaches to structure and assess the multi-dimensional implications of developing extractive and non-extractive local scenarios according to the criteria that are relevant to local inhabitants. We claim that SMCE allows to make more visible scales, social values and uncertainties that are discounted by hegemonic discourses in the mining debate that focus almost exclusively on national economic results. We present and discuss the application of this framework to the current copper mining conflict in Intag (Ecuador).

Multi-criteria evaluation model to face phytosanitary emergencies: The case of citrus fruits farming in Italy

In the last decade, citrus fruits farming, at the international level, revealed an upward trend changing the traditional scenarios of the offer, with the exchange of products coming from all areas of the world, thanks to the progressive abrogation of fare barriers. The material exchange is causing spreading of diseases that have caused a severe damage, such as the epidemics and culture extinctions with a high economic, health, environmental and social impact. In such a context, the definition of possible methods to face the emergencies is absolutely necessary. This research suggests the adoption of an evaluation model for phytosanitary emergencies (Citrus Tristeza Virus – CTV), a model that is sustainable from the economic, social, biotic and phytosanitary perspective. It is based on an integrated model that considers the application of a participatory planning technique and of an evaluation method included among the tools of the Social Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE). The results highlighted that the hypothesis 1 “cohabitation with the Citrus Tristeza virus” is the predominant hypothesis, followed at short distance by the hypothesis 2 ”total eradication and re-implantation”, while the hypothesis 3 “abandonment or extirpation” gained a marginal meaning. It was possible to assert that the hypothesis 1 was the one that presented the highest sustainability.

Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance - ADVISOR

This Report synthesizes the main results obtained throughout the ADVISOR research project ("Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance") funded by the European Commission, under the - ‘Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development’ theme of the 5th Framework Research Programme.The aim of ADVISOR was to improve the understanding of evaluation processes as part of river basin planning and management and to provide a framework supported by a toolkit for the conduct of integrated and participatory evaluations. The project comprised four work-packages.Work Package 1 examined past water project or plan evaluation cases in five EU states and drew insights on the problems of past evaluation practices.Work Package 2 interpreted these past experiences from different analytical angles leading to a theory for an integrated evaluation process, emphasising issues of deliberation, multiple values, quality in the use of information and governance.Work Package 3 moved from theory to practice. Different tools which could contribute to integrated evaluation processes were tested in experimental case applications. These included scenario workshops, mediated modelling supported by a quality assurance protocol, social multi-criteria evaluation, cost-effectiveness analyses and monetary valuation.Work Package 4 aimed at transferring the experience and lessons learned during the ADVISOR project to policy makers, contributing especially to the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive. A guidance document for designing and implementing Integrated Deliberative Decision Processes (IDDP) was developed, detailing a step-by-step procedure to achieve integrated evaluations.The synthesis of the main results achieved throughout the ADVISOR project is presented in this report in three parts: Part A sets the stage for the role of integrated evaluations in river basin planning and management; Part B unfolds the set of relevant principles and tools developed in the project and Part C concludes with futures challenges for integrated evaluation processes.This title belongs to European Water Research SeriesISBN: 9781843391487 (Print)ISBN: 9781780402307 (eBook)

A participatory integrated assessment approach for Natura 2000 network sites

Managing protected areas (PAs) requires dealing with complex social-ecological systems where multiple dimensions (i.e. social, institutional, economic and ecological) interact over time. Uni-dimensional and top-down approaches have been unable to capture this complexity. Instead, new integrated approaches that acknowledge the multidimensional nature of PAs and the diversity of social actors in the decision making process are required. In this paper we put forward a novel participatory assessment approach which integrates multiple methodologies to reflect value articulating institutions in the case of a Natura 2000 (N2000) network site in the Basque Country (Southern Europe). This novel approach is based on a social multi-criteria evaluation framework, that integrates (i) economic values derived from a choice experiment, (ii) ecological values by means of a spatial bio-geographic assessment, and (iii) a participatory process among diverse social actors. The case study shows that through the integration of diverse perspectives it is possible to achieve compromise solutions that foster the ecological values of PAs while enhancing other socio-economic benefits. Such co-benefits are important to enhance the acceptance and scope of N2000 and overcome undesirable social-ecological conflicts. We also show that the inclusion of all affected parties in a deliberative process is a key prerequisite to ensure ecologically effective and socially acceptable decisions that will lead to sustainable conservation policies.

Capabilities as justice: Analysing the acceptability of payments for ecosystem services (PES) through ‘social multi-criteria evaluation’

‘Payments for ecosystem services’ (PES) is rapidly becoming a popular governance intervention within natural resource management to align land-use stewardship to conserve critical ecosystem services while simultaneously improving human well-being through the provision of incentives. This paper introduces two novel components for refining the legitimacy of PES in water resource management. Firstly, we broaden consideration of human well-being in PES beyond income effects by considering justice as the freedom or capability to ‘do and be’ whatever is desired. Secondly, this paper applies social multi-criteria evaluation as a decision-support framework to determine the acceptability and payment vehicle of PES within a set of alternative policy considerations for a complex ecosystem management decision. Through both technical and social evaluations of different management options against a set of criteria, we highlight the legitimacy that different PES designs may have for improving water quality and capabilities for well-being.

Absolute order-of-magnitude reasoning applied to a social multi-criteria evaluation framework

A social multi-criteria evaluation framework for solving a real-case problem of selecting a wind farm location in the regions of Urgell and Conca de Barberá in Catalonia (northeast of Spain) is studied. This paper applies a qualitative multi-criteria decision analysis approach based on linguistic labels assessment able to address uncertainty and deal with different levels of precision. This method is based on qualitative reasoning as an artificial intelligence technique for assessing and ranking multi-attribute alternatives with linguistic labels in order to handle uncertainty. This method is suitable for problems in the social framework such as energy planning which require the construction of a dialogue process among many social actors with high level of complexity and uncertainty. The method is compared with an existing approach, which has been applied previously in the wind farm location problem. This approach, consisting of an outranking method, is based on Condorcet's original method. The results obtained by both approaches are analysed and their performance in the selection of the wind farm location is compared in aggregation procedures. Although results show that both methods conduct to similar alternatives rankings, the study highlights both their advantages and drawbacks.