There is a strong and growing need to appraise new land use options for catchments and regions with the increased emphasis on the sustainable management of natural resources and the participation of communities in this process. The science used to manage natural resources has improved greatly over the past few decades, but there is still a fundamental problem integrating and applying our understanding of how management affects natural systems. Because of the complexity and connectedness of ecological systems, any human modification of a natural system will affect other components of the system and ultimately the society that interacts with it. Computer programs that describe these multiple effects and provide a structured approach to selecting a management plan based on an individual’s or group’s preferences and trade-offs are called multi-objective decision support
systems (MODSS). The MODSS website, which has links to the proceedings of three MODSS conferences including the most recent in 2002, demonstrates how many papers have been written on environment decision support systems. Supporting Decisions: Understanding Natural Resource Management Assessment Techniques seeks to aid decision-makers attempting to select and apply an appropriate form of decision support who do not have the time to wade through all of this literature. It is written primarily for the practising NRM decision-maker who does not have the time or resources to become acquainted with the vast literature of management science and operations research. Groups (e.g. catchment and Landcare groups) should find this document useful when reviewing their decision procedures or reviewing project evaluations or decision analyses by consultants. It will arm such groups with information required to critically review the application of NRM decision support methods. The report is presented under seven major themes: 1. natural resource management decisions; 2. valuing the environment; 3. benefit-cost analysis; 4. multiple criteria analysis; 5. other analytical decision support techniques; 6. policy frameworks for NRM decision-making; and 7. implementing decision support.
| | | | Action: 5.14 |
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| | Read the report on understanding NRM techniques and visit the MODSS web-site to discover the range of tool available to help integrate natural resource management decisions. | | | COST |  | | | TIME |  | | | COMPLEXITY |  | | | | |
Examples of the use of several of these and other techniques in the Australian context are provided in the following sections. LUPIS (Land Use Planning System) and LUPIS+ are software tools for land use scenario planning. LUPIS can explore alternative land use patterns at any scale, from a paddock to the nation. It is a transparent and participatory approach that is designed to include the knowledge and values of participants involved in land use planning including farmers, regional organisations, boards and agencies and scientists. LUPIS+ produces maps of alternative land use patterns. Land allocation is driven by guidelines written by participants, who also allocate votes that influence the relative importance of each guideline. The process can be followed without the software, or by using alternative software such as a geographical information system and a multi-criteria package, but LUPIS+ has capabilities that are not available in other software. It is designed for exploring options and examining trade-offs in a quest for a pattern of land use that satisfies multiple goals efficiently; that is, with the lowest opportunity cost. The software has been evolving for some time. In WA LUPIS was used in the late 1990s in the Rangeways and Living Landscape projects because it was conceptually simple, not dependent on the quantification of all variables used in decision-making and has the capacity to reflect social preferences through a transparent weighting system. More recently LUPIS+ has been used in the Ecosystem Services and Heartlands projects in eastern Australia. The Ecosystem Services project is using the software to compare the ability of alternative land use patterns to yield ecosystem services: control of water tables, carbon storage, habitat for native species, maintenance of landscape function, and provision of fodder, shade and shelter. In the Heartlands project the application is ‘proof of concept.’ At no stage is the intention to produce a land use plan for implementation. The maps and supporting information generated are intended to show priority areas for land use change.
| | | | Action: 5.15 |
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| | Consider using LUPIS as a participatory tool to explore different land use options that satisfy multiple goals efficiently with the lowest cost in terms of opportunities forgone. | | | COST | | | | TIME | | | | COMPLEXITY |  | | | | |
Multi-criteria analysis is a technique for evaluating a discrete set of alternative options against a set of multiple, and often conflicting, criteria. Regional Priority Setting in Queensland presents a framework using this technique to assess regional funding priorities. The framework can be used to help set priorities under other programs and is flexible enough to allow the incorporation of additional data layers and decision-maker preferences. In this example data were compiled for Queensland’s 13 NRM funding regions relating to agricultural profits, geographic extent, degradation costs, landscape value, salinity area, threatened species, tree clearance, water quality and water use. The choice of weights put on the different criteria for selecting priorities is a critical input to the framework, and is advisable to be chosen with input from relevant stakeholders. An interactive spreadsheet model has been prepared which allows users to view the impacts of alternative criteria weighting scenarios. The report stresses that while the framework can help inform the process of regional priority setting, in cannot replace the need for decision-maker judgements. This MODSS website is the home of Facilitator, a generic MODSS developed to aid informed decision-making for natural resource and land use management that can be downloaded from the website. Facilitator is a generic MODSS that ranks alternatives or options based on how well they satisfy a set of performance criteria. It is a computer-based system, which can be used with a group while they are working through a decision. It can be used to capture the information and issues as they arise, and help to show the relative merits of the options. The software uses a multi-criteria evaluation approach and its developers hope that making it freely available will increase its use and lead to improvements in the technique. They believe that given the scope and complexity of the inherently multi-objective environmental problems facing the world, MODSS are far from achieving their potential.
| | | | Action: 5.16 |
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| | Visit the MODSS website to see if the software Facilitator could help your region make informed decisions about different land use options. | | | COST | | | | TIME | | | | COMPLEXITY | | | | | |
A report on Catchment Management Planning and Landcare in the Little River Catchment demonstrates how ‘Best Management Options’ (BMOs) at the catchment scale can be prioritised for 14 natural resource management issues using a cost-benefit analysis. To establish the priorities, it was asked whether each of the BMOs was achievable (to the targeted level), affordable, whether the benefits were tangible and whether it was consistent with the Central West Catchment Blueprint priorities. According to this analysis, the following BMOs were considered likely to be the most suitable, in terms of the four criteria: - Use of soil ameliorants;
- Strategic/rotational grazing;
- Native vegetation conservation;
- Conservation farming;
- Perennial mixed pastures;
- Strategic tree planting; and
- Buffer strips for riverside zones.
A section identifies the barriers to change, with money issues being the major barrier to overcome. There is the view that many natural resource management actions do not significantly improve profits and also the cash flow problems associated with the delayed returns of investing in lime, even though the returns are significant. A number of schemes were identified that may help overcome economic hurdles, with some also meeting social, educational and economic needs. These included no interest / low interest loans or subsidies for lime or gypsum; State agencies to supply salinity advisory staff (to advise, educate and coordinate funds for extra fencing and watering points); to encourage change to strategic grazing, funds for trees, fencing and labour (on priority areas); to encourage tree planting, and the availability of technical advice on what trees to plant, where, and to coordinate plantings. The management plan developed for the Little River Catchment demonstrates how some problems can be fixed individually but many need coordinated efforts. |
