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This editorial introduces the Special Issue on the role and use of discrete choice modelling in informing environmental and energy decision making and summarises the main insights provided. The papers collected in this Special Issue address a range of applications of discrete choice modelling, from energy decisions to climate change and transport choices, from tourism preferences for climate change mitigation to wildlife conservation strategies and ecosystem management. However, all the papers share the same fundamental aim of using novel methodological approaches in choice models to tackle conceptually and spatially specific policy questions and support decisions with robust empirical evidence. This is particularly relevant to enhance the real-world policy uptake of choice modelling results and develop a network of practice and capacity building to improve the quality of information that is provided to stakeholders and decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public Inquiry is an established process for effective testing and scrutiny of plans in terrestrial planning and is regarded as a means of providing credibility and accountability. Independent Investigation is its marine equivalent and was included as a provision in the UK marine planning regime and subsequent legislation since its inception. However, it has been noticeably absent in practice. This paper investigates the reasons behind this situation within the context of the proposed and actual role of II in the marine planning process in the UK. It additionally considers the future use of II in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the marine planning system. This paper concludes that as the use of the marine resource of the UK becomes increasingly contested and controversial, II could be utilized to enhance marine plans and marine planning decisions and thus warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is implemented in most countries as an administrative procedure. In this context, it is subject to the principles of administrative justice. However, to date, no empirical research has been conducted to determine the extent to which EIA decisions comply with the principles of administrative justice. In this paper, empirical data from 42 EIA cases in South Africa are used to establish EIA compliance with the administrative justice principles of lawfulness, procedural fairness and reasonableness. This is achieved by measuring EIA decisions against specially developed key performance indicators (KPIs). Overall, decisions were found to mostly comply with the principles of administrative justice. However, questions arise with regards to the quality and substance of the information feeding into the decision-making process and on which decisions are ultimately based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an assessment framework tool to analyze the performance of nature-based solutions (NBS) for hydro-meteorological risk management. The tool is based on multi-criteria decision analysis within the context of NBSs, an umbrella concept currently in focus that promotes nature and provides ecological and socio-economic benefits. The proposed tool includes the selection and application of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the co-benefits and costs associated with the implementation of NBSs. To ensure high societal impact, the tool relies on a participatory approach. Stakeholder preferences are taken into account within the assessment process. As such, the assessment framework can be used as a design and selection tool for NBSs and other alternative measures, including grey and hybrid solutions. The proposed procedure can be adapted to the specific socio-environmental context and hydro-meteorological risk by tailoring the set of relevant KPIs. The assessment framework is useful for monitoring the implemented measures and to document their effectiveness. The methodology provides quantitative and transparent documentation of hydro-meteorological risk management processes, useful for decision- and policy-makers, and stakeholders dealing with NBS measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, British Columbia (BC) adopted Bill 41: The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). DRIPA committed BC to developing a new planning process, modernized land use planning, that involves ethical collaboration with Indigenous Peoples. Although ethical decision-making in planning theory has emerged in academic discourse, planning practitioners are missing clear frameworks to implement theory in practice. Ethical Space, a conceptual approach used to balance power between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, may prove to be a promising implementation framework. This paper offers an exploratory application of Ethical Space for land use planning in Upper Columbia, a region in expressed need of modernized land use planning efforts. Research methods include semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Findings present recommendations for Upper Columbia governments to begin Ethical Space in land use planning. Key insights are transferable to planners with an interest in ethical collaborations between multiple governance structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Press coverage of the Sheffield street tree dispute showed images of protestors and yellow ribbons on trees threatened with felling as part of a highly charged and public argument between the council and some of its citizens. However, a closer analysis of the highways management programme shows that it was not simply a case of two parties in conflict. This paper pulls on a wide range of secondary data sources to explore Sheffield’s street tree dispute by examining the urban management approach taken by the local authority. Using the place-keeping concept as an analytical framework, the paper will demonstrate how the Sheffield case reflects “business as usual” maintenance practices undertaken by local authorities when contracting out management work. The analysis also provides evidence showing how the Sheffield case demonstrates poor contract design, governance processes, evaluation and communication practices that had ramifications for the city that went beyond its street trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation is increasingly used to legitimize and improve environmental decision making. However, in practice participants often find the process empty and frustrating. This has adverse consequences for environmental planning and consenting processes, where participants become disillusioned, and negative feelings develop into active opposition, causing delays, spiraling costs, and conflict. This paper addresses the gap between participatory ideals and unsatisfactory environmental decision-making in practice. We take a fresh look at how participatory ideals can be implemented and propose a new framework based on translating participatory ideals into practice. We identified commitments and values for fair and achievable participatory environmental decision-making from science and technology studies (STS), procedural environmental justice, and deliberative democracy. These were synthesized and organized into a set of principles (inclusivity, process-orientation, empowerment, and reflection) and then translated into "practical" criteria. The result is a new framework that links participatory ideals to practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In environmental governance, participatory modes of political decision-making and planning are becoming more prevalent. A rationalist model of governance would assume that instrumental rationales prevail in choosing participatory process designs. Some argue, however, that public policy-makers also follow administrative or governance 'culture'. The concept of participatory governance culture assumes that historically grown institutional traditions, rationales and routines predetermine administrative practice. This paper empirically maps whether differences in participatory approaches can be explained by variation in participatory governance cultures. We study participatory governance in implementing the participatory provisions of three EU environmental directives in German federal states. Results indicate that although statutory requirements play a role in implementation process design, state-specific patterns can be observed. Studying participatory governance cultures seems viable to (1) enrich the theory of participatory planning through greater attention to governance cultures and to (2) offer an explanatory model on variation in implementation processes within one policy field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel methodological approach to help decision-makers in SMEs evaluate and prioritize sustainability reporting (SR) standards. It can thus help SMEs to overcome some of the problems they encounter when initiating SR. In order to explore this decision in more depth, a set of decision criteria are identified, reflecting the costs and benefits that could be derived from SR adoption. The methodological approach proposed is based on the best-worst multi-criteria decision-making method and is tested on a sample of Spanish SMEs. The results highlight the relevance of SR for the legitimacy and reputation of the firm, with GRI ranking first among the SR alternatives. This research helps to strengthen the link between academia and business, by developing a tool with which firms can select a reporting standard. This is especially relevant for SMEs given their relevant role in national economies and their general failure to disclose such information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have increasingly acknowledged the relative strength of 'hybrid' approaches to scenario analysis for exploring the futures of coupled human-nature systems. In this paper, we explain, demonstrate, and provisionally evaluate the usefulness of a simple analytical framework, based on five categories of capital assets, as part of a protocol for overcoming the conversion problem in hybrid scenario analysis. Based on a preliminary application of the framework to a case study in South Africa, we suggest that the five capitals framework has the potential to improve expedience and counter the bias against 'soft' drivers in hybrid approaches to scenario analysis. However, in light of the methodological trade-off between rigour and expedience, we suggest that future research needs to compare the available protocols for hybrid scenario analysis by weighing up the relative gain in scenario quality versus the relative cost of scenario construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of factors are critical to the implementation of measures identified through Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) processes. This paper addresses the challenge of implementation from a street level perspective and studies the role of planners and their use of discretion in the SEA implementation process: in which way might planners hinder or facilitate the implementation of SEA? Which coping mechanisms and discretions are deliberately or unconsciously developed and used by the planners? The paper reviews the literature on street level bureaucracy (SLB) in order to identify both factors influencing the implementation behaviour of street level bureaucrats and their coping mechanism when confronted with these factors. Based upon the SLB theory, a case study explores the SLB behaviour involved in the implementation of the SEA of the Copenhagen spatial plan. The analysis shows a surprisingly high level of implementation of measures put forward in the SEA report, and underlines the role of planners at the front line of implementation, functioning as ‘innovators’ during the SEA process and the following implementation of measures. The paper documents the importance of examining planners’ role in SEA and their potential as levers for SEA implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a comprehensive framework for analysing formal rules regulating the involvement of various actors in protected areas decision-making over time and apply it to Poland. Based on the analysis of legal acts and policy documents, we suggest that since the democratic transition started in 1989, the governance of Polish protected areas has been increasingly multi-level and participatory. However, different designations indicate different levels of involvement by non-state actors, with Natura 2000 standing out from the traditional protected areas. Regarding governance issues, establishing and taking management decisions were characterised by the greatest changes in actors’ involvement. While participation of non-public actors is still limited mostly to information and consultation, the involvement of non-state public actors of various levels increased significantly. The paper highlights the importance of a systematic analysis of legal rules as a starting point for empirical investigation of the governance of protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been promoted as an instrument for preventive environmental management in construction projects, but its performance in safeguarding the environment through influencing project decision-making is questioned. This paper probes the underlying reasons from a governance perspective as an important supplement to the regulatory and technical perspectives. A framework, with process integration, professional governance, and public engagement being its key components, is proposed to analyze the governance arrangements that enable or inhibit the effective functioning of EIA, based on which a comparative study of three infrastructure projects in China, the United States and Finland was conducted. The results reveal that, while the level of process integration and public engagement of EIA determines the degree to which EIA influences project decisions, it is the professional governance that controls the accountability of EIA. The paper has implications on institutionally where efforts should be directed to improve the performance of EIA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies of urban metabolism provide important insights for environmental management of cities, but are not widely used in planning practice due to a mismatch of data scale and coverage. This paper introduces the Spatial Allocation of Material Flow Analysis (SAMFA) model as a potential decision support tool aimed as a contribution to overcome some of these difficulties and describes its pilot use at the county level in the Republic of Ireland. The results suggest that SAMFA is capable of identifying hotspots of higher material and energy use to support targeted planning initiatives, while its ability to visualise different policy scenarios supports more effective multi-stakeholder engagement. The paper evaluates this pilot use and sets out how this model can act as an analytical platform for the industrial ecology–spatial planning nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accountability has hardly been studied in the governance of climate change adaptation. This paper develops a framework for assessing the accountability of interactive governance arrangements for local adaptation. This framework is based on five important accountability mechanisms: Clear responsibilities and mandates, Transparency, Political oversight, Citizen control and Checks and sanctions. For illustration purposes, the proposed framework is applied to the case of a Dutch local adaptation governance arrangement. The application shows that the five proposed mechanisms and their operationalizations offer a valid assessment of the accountability of such arrangements. It also raises some challenges, such as the tensions between accountability and flexibility, legitimacy and effectiveness; the potentially important roles of trust and of the political skills of central actor(s) in the arrangement in raising accountability, and the potential need to distinguish between arrangements for policy planning and for service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective environmental governance requires institutional change. While some actors work to change institutions, others resist change by defending and maintaining institutions. Much of this institutional work is 'meaning work', which we define as the practice of crafting, adapting, connecting and performing meanings to purposively create, maintain or disrupt institutions. This paper constructs a concept of meaning work that highlights agency in carrying meanings across scales and between discursive layers, while noting the structuring role of prevailing discourses. It grounds the concept using two environmental governance cases at very different scales: a local democratic innovation employed by Noosa Council in Queensland, Australia; and the international campaign to divest from fossil fuels. The cases demonstrate the diversity of meaning work and the difficulty of achieving deep discursive change. They point to the need for environmental governance practitioners to rework existing meanings to construct compelling stories for change, taking advantage of narrative openings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change may result in reduced water supply from the Alps – an important water resource for Europe. This paper presents a multilingual platform that combines spatial and multi-criteria decision-support tools to facilitate stakeholder collaboration in the analysis of water management adaptation options. The platform has an interactive map interface that allows participants to select a location of their interest within the Alpine Arc. By utilising the decision-support tool, stakeholders can identify suitable adaptation solutions for different geographical units, according to their experience and preference. The platform was used to involve experts across Alpine borders, domains and decision-making levels, as well as a group of university students. The experts favoured the planning instruments for saving water, while the students inclined towards the measures that would improve water conservation. The initial results confirmed the suitability of the platform for future involvement of decision-makers in spatio-temporal analyses of adaptation pathways in the Alps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of experience on the choice of visits to forests in a stated discrete choice experiment. Recent literature has indicated that experiences with the environmental services valuated may increase the respondents' certainty in their choice of hypothetical alternatives. We apply two indicators of experiences: the number of visits and the number of different forests visited during the last year. Applying the generalized multinomial logit model, we find that an increase in the number of visits to forests makes respondents' choices more predictable. However, the number of different forests visited reduces the predictability of choices. Furthermore, we investigate the relationship between respondents' experience of forest recreation and the self-reported choice certainty, controlling for respondents' social-demographics and other design characteristics. Finally, we show that self-reported choice certainty is positive correlated with the scale factor, as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecosystem services (ES) concept is being increasingly incorporated into environmental policy formulation and management approaches. The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) is a framework used to assess the dependence and impact that a business has on ES. The success of the corporate experience of ES assessment provides an opportunity for adaption for local authority decision making. In this paper, the ESR tool was adapted to the South African setting at a local government level, and tested at two sites in the Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. In testing the tool and gathering feedback from key stakeholders, it was found that there are both opportunities and challenges to this approach. Overall, however, it provides an opportunity for the systematic inclusion of ES assessment into existing regulatory frameworks for land-use planning and Integrated Environmental Management, whether in a strategic application, at a broader spatial (municipal) scale or in a specific locale within the municipality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory planning is becoming increasingly integral to governance. Numerous planning innovations are developed which aim to increase democratic legitimacy and improve decision making. This paper critically reflects on a typical Dutch innovation: the area committee. Based on two individual case studies, we investigate whether area committees realise democratic legitimacy in existing planning practices. Analytically, we focus on four democratic goods: inclusiveness, popular control, considered judgement and transparency. Based on the interdependencies between area committees and government structures we discuss the potential and dilemmas for the area committee to contribute to the democratic legitimacy of environmental policy and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions about energy in developing communities are challenging from a technical standpoint, and because of the unique characteristics that typify them, e.g. limited infrastructure and government budgets, complex social and political arrangements, and economic vulnerability. Against the backdrop of these challenges, the government of Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT) is attempting to reform the region's energy system. This paper provides insights from the decision sciences, stemming from our work on the NWT's energy planning process, about how to structure decisions about energy development and delivery so as to effectively meet a range of stakeholders’ objectives in a transparent and inclusive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based decision support systems are increasingly used to link knowledge to action for environmental decision making. How stakeholders perceive uncertainty in models and visualisations affects their perceptions of credibility, relevance and usability of these tools. This paper presents a case study of water decision makers’ evaluations of WaterSim, a dynamic water simulation model presented in an immersive decision theatre environment. Results reveal that decision makers’ understandings of uncertainty in their evaluations of decision support systems reflect both scientific and political discourse. We conclude with recommendations for design and evaluation of decision support systems that incorporate decision makers' views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealed and stated preference techniques are widely used to assess willingness to pay (WTP) for non-market goods as input to public and private decision-making. However, individuals first have to satisfy subsistence needs through market good consumption, which affects their ability to pay. We provide a methodological framework and derive a simple ex post adjustment factor to account for this effect. We quantify its impacts on the WTP for non-market goods and the ranking of projects theoretically, numerically and empirically. This confirms that non-adjusted WTP tends to be plutocratic: the views of the richest – whatever they are – are more likely to impact decision-making, potentially leading to ranking reversal between projects. We also suggest that the subsistence needs-based adjustment factor we propose has a role to play in value transfer procedures. The overall goal is a better representation of the entire population's preferences with regard to non-market goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about citizens' judgment of nature conservation actions financed by public funds. The present work contributes to this topic with empirical evidence coming from a Choice Modeling (CM) study designed in an innovative mode. Using the participatory budget format, a CM exercise elicited respondents' choice between the allocation of public funds for nature conservation actions versus other actions (e.g. social or economic interventions). The case study comprises an EU-LIFE project managed by a Portuguese municipality. Results highlight the importance of awareness of and accessibility to environmental goods, as those that are more willing to pay use the area for leisure activities and have a greater knowledge about it. In addition, we suggest that CM can be used as a tool to uncover citizens' preferences regarding public budget allocation which can contribute to a democratization of decision making at this level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the current discussion on whether ‘soft’ regulation actually influences policy outcomes by examining the effects of national policy instruments on municipal climate and energy planning. Sweden has experienced shifts in the incentive context over the last decades complementing soft planning regulations with stringent conditions for getting national economic support to local energy and climate action. We hypothesize that when soft regulations are surrounded by detailed conditions for getting state support, there will be higher degrees of local institutionalization of climate and energy strategies. The importance of economic support as part of national policy is confirmed by evidence from local energy and climate strategies and from interviews with local decision-makers. We also find that specific municipal features such as earlier municipal engagement in national support programs and relevant inter-municipal networks function as drivers for the institutionalization of local action. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims at describing, analyzing and evaluating the relation between management styles and process dynamics of a complex planning process confronted with unexpected dynamics. The development of an aquatic disposal site for dredged contaminated sediments in Oslo was managed by a project management style focused on timely and cost-effective implementation. Coupling the remediation project with another infrastructural project and the actual construction of the site led to unexpected dynamics in terms of resistance and controversy. Project management had difficulties in adjusting its style accordingly, resulting in even more delay and resistance. Managing complex planning projects requires a style suitable to the characteristics of the project and the capability of adjusting it to changing circumstances. The paper concludes with some explanations why it is difficult to change management styles in complex planning and implementation processes and complexity-embracing approaches to deal with this. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a multi-criteria selection of the best forest road network with the aim of achieving effective preventive and timely repressive protection against forest fires. The research was carried out in national park (NP) “Tara” at a site which is under constant threat of fire. Four variants of the forest road network were designed and analyzed against seven criteria, and the best variant was selected using entropy weight coefficients (EWC) method. The importance of these seven criteria was studied by the management of the NP “Tara.” The greatest importance was given to the criteria relating to the cost of construction and maintenance of permanent and temporary roads (47% of the total value of all criteria). The EWC method did not select the variant based on the lowest costs of construction and maintenance as the best option, but the variant whose location was the most suitable for effective defense against forest fires. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

General backcasting as a decision support and planning method starts from desired future states and simulates developments backwards until reaching the present state. Development pathways that reveal steps to be taken to reach a certain future state, and milestones that serve as interim goals, are created during the process. Backcasting has hitherto only been applied in workshops or as a theoretical framework and no spatially explicit backcasting model has previously been established. This paper presents the development of a spatially explicit backcasting model. The proposed model first creates a future scenario utilizing an agent-based model and then simulates backwards. It is implemented using the programming language Python. The model has been applied to a case study for sustainable land-use planning in Salzburg, Austria. The results of the model run show a successful backcasting of land-use classes from a future state back to the present, in 10 year time steps. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is a powerful technical tool for analyzing potential and extreme adverse environmental impacts, and has found wide application in supporting decision-making processes over the last two decades. However, to date there has been no interrelated application of ERA to support the processes of strategic decision-making (SDM), especially in coastal areas. In this paper, we attempt to verify the feasibility of the proposed integrated ERA–SDM approach and its methodology by applying it to two case studies (in Xiamen Bay and Luoyuan Bay) of the principal coastal functional zoning (PCFZ, a kind of SDM and similar to the coastal and marine spatial planning in western). The results show that the integrated ERA–SDM approach could integrate ERA into the entire SDM process, directly support the PCFZ, and avoid or mitigate dire environmental risk that can be introduced by SDM processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Local communities can play a very important role in evaluating their environmental conditions and in developing innovative, practical, and effective solutions to improve community environmental health. Thus, community involvement in decision-making is one of the keys to improving environmental and public health. However, such a process is unquestionably complicated and demands well-organized collaboration between local communities and authoritative partners, as well as suitable decision-aiding methods/tools that facilitate a multiple-step decision process, starting from the identification and prioritization of hazards, risks and concerns, to the development and ranking of potential solutions. We introduce a new multi-criteria decision-making method named BESTMAP (Bounding, Eliciting, and Sliding Technique for Multi-Criterion Analysis of Priorities). BESTMAP inherits the strengths of several popular MCDM models and retains their respective merits by tackling myriad concerns with a practical, yet rigorous, approach to derive preference. BESTMAP has been developed in a familiar (offline) web-browser interface to facilitate stakeholder use. Integrating practicality and methodological rigor, BESTMAP serves as an effective model for MCDM applications, especially those with a large number of criteria and alternatives in general, and for prioritizing concerns for community environmental health in particular, where the list of concerns is often numerous, unclear, and diverse between different stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I investigated the effectiveness of a multi-criteria decision analysis process in integrating the study of community composition, aimed to allow sustainable use of semi-natural habitats. Weighted linear combination identified the suitability for recreational use and conservation potential of different sectors of the study area, obtained respectively from questionnaires and the examination of plant biodiversity. After assessing human impacts, I created a compromise scenario using a multi-objective land allocation method. I found a positive relationship between the most frequented areas and the presence of anthropogenic vegetation, but a negative relationship with biodiversity. My method effectively detected human presence hotspots and highlighted the most vulnerable areas. Therefore, multi-criteria decision analysis, used alongside plant ecology expertise, can successfully promote balanced land-use planning, especially in highly frequented regions with significant natural features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In efficiently supporting planning decisions, decision makers often handle complex and multifaceted decisions. The combined use of geographic information systems (GIS)-based tools and multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods has emerged as a sophisticated process that provides significant advantages in overcoming decision-making difficulties. Multicriteria raster-based suitability analyses are dominated by the performance of weighted linear combination approaches. This is principally due to technical limitations that arise since pairwise comparisons among candidate alternatives are needed to perform outranking relations. To overcome these limitations, a combination of GIS and a Fuzzy extension of the PROMETHEE method is proposed to reduce the complexity of the calculations. The efficiency of the proposed decision-making model is discussed through a case study, by comparing the derived alternative location rankings with those obtained by other well-established approaches. The framework provides a flexible way to overcome PROMETHEE computational limitations while the performed results validation analysis reveals that the framework produces coherent results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen perspectives on a controversial aggregate mining application amendment are elicited using an online participatory platform P2P-Surveys. The interface uses interactive visual cues to focus the subject's attention on their social values framework as a decision-aide. Interactive elements encourage learning by providing values feedback and then allowing the subject to adjust their preference input or to change the values-modeling parameters prior to submitting their responses. Individual preference rankings are then aggregated using a Modified Borda Count for subsets of the participants. The resulting group preference rankings provide insights useful to researchers interested in the interface between social values and environmental decision making, and for decision makers who wish to harness citizen input for integrated decision making. A real-life case study for citizen input into a below-water aggregate mining controversy in Southern Ontario, Canada, is utilized to explain this new methodology and to demonstrate the useful information generated to assist in resources management decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to shoreline erosion and potentially more severe storm damage due to climate change and sea level rise, armouring of shorelines using traditional hard structures is likely to increase. An emerging alternative to seawalls and other hard structures is to create 'living shorelines' where natural habitats are incorporated into a resilient shoreline stabilization design. Research has shown that functional, multiuse living shorelines provide options for reducing erosion rates and sustaining shoreline stability while supporting intertidal and nearshore habitat. Drawing upon the scientific literature, shoreline management best practices, and the results from an expert opinion survey, we propose a spatial decision framework for multiclass suitability analysis of generic shoreline stabilization options with a focus on the unique challenges and opportunities of South Florida. The results have been incorporated into a web application that can facilitate decision-making in support of nature-based stabilization infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing importance of environmental sustainability in the corporate sector, businesses are compelled to progress from assessing and benchmarking their environmental impact to making decisions on how to prioritize impact reduction alternatives. Most often, business decisions are driven by financial metrics, but with sustainability improvements becoming a business goal, it is also important to assess metrics from environmental and social spheres; nevertheless, practically and systematically performing such an assessment is challenging. We present an application of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method that addresses the aforementioned challenges in a corporate setting. Our case study company -- one of the largest inland marine freight carriers in the United States -- promotes a business culture focused on financially viable, yet socially and environmentally responsible solutions. Thus, we combine life cycle analysis (LCA), financial calculation methods, and corporate surveys to quantify environmental, economic, and social performance measures, respectively. Multiattribute utility theory is integrated with analytic hierarchy processes (AHPs) and fuzzy analysis to create a carefully designed framework for corporations with diverse groups of stakeholders. With company leadership, implementation is feasible and successful at prioritizing alternatives among diverse stakeholders. The process provides a platform for negotiation and promotes discussions on decision drivers. The use of MCDA methodologies promoted the inclusion of a suite of metrics that aligned with the company's sense of social and environmental responsibility, generating an in-depth analysis of the alternatives that factored in other things besides economics. Return-oninvestments (ROI) calculations, the typical approach used in the corporate setting, would have required significantly less time and effort from the company, but the results of our MCDA application indicated that inclusion of triple bottom line metrics delve deeper into stakeholder preferences. Thus, our case study company gained a holistic view of the candidate alternatives, in addition to creating a platform for structured discussions about company goals and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between the pattern of pollutant releases and neighborhood characteristics has been in the center of environmental justice debates for the last decades. One part of the discourse revolves around the question if the siting decision of polluting firms or the sorting decision of households is the explanatory factor for the pattern of pollutant releases. The aim of this study is to contribute to the discussion by investigating the potential correlation between polluting facilities and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods in Ontario, Canada, using data from the Canadian census and National Pollutant Release Inventory. The analysis shows that when the results are considered from the perspectives of the siting decision of firms and sorting decision of households’ hypotheses, the results weigh in favor of the sorting decision of households. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Local governments are under pressure to tackle an increasing spectrum of complex contemporary problems, such as climate change, while ensuring multiple stakeholder interests are incorporated into decision processes. Multi-criteria decision tools can assist, but challenges remain in creating an enabling environment for incorporating and balancing different stakeholder perspectives. Here, we draw on interview data and a sensitivity analysis to investigate the use of an evaluation matrix to guide local coastal adaptation decision-making in South Africa. We adopt a participatory action research framework and find that decision-making is influenced by individual, departmental and institutional values that are not adequately captured in the matrix approach. Our study reveals the compromise between achieving broad stakeholder representation and utilising technical expertise, and that altering matrix assumptions can imply different decision outcomes. Suggestions are made to improve multi-criteria decision approaches to better facilitate integrated coastal management in responding to local coastal adaptation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although science is generally assumed to be well integrated into rational decision-making models, it can be used to destabilise consultative processes, particularly when emotions are involved. Water policies are often seen as debates over technical and engineering issues, but can be highly controversial. Recycled water proposals, in particular, can create highly emotive conflicts. Through a case study regarding the rejection of recycled water proposals in the south-east Queensland, Australia, we explore the influence of science and emotions in contemporary water planning. We highlight the dangers inherent in promoting technical water planning issues at the expense of appropriate consideration of citizen concerns. Combining the science–policy interface and stakeholder engagement literatures, we advocate for collaborative decision-making processes that accommodate emotions and value judgements. A more collaborative stakeholder engagement model, founded on the principles of co-learning, has the potential to broaden the decision-making base and to promote better and more inclusive decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In last decades, numerous efforts have been carried out by the scientific community to assess the multifunctional role of forests in supporting the forest decision-making processes. Recently developed in Italy, the Forest Landscape Management Planning seems to be the most suitable tool to maintain the sustainability balance between forests and local populations. This research identifies and maps different forest ecosystem functions in a mountain Natura2000 Network site by performing a spatial estimation of forest inventory parameters, and implementing a multi-criteria and multi-level approach. Final results on mapping of forest functions show acceptable values of classification accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Public participation in decision making is a central component of the planning process; however, implementing effective engagement initiatives to resolve complex planning and policy problems, such as climate change, is challenging for planners. These challenges are particularly acute in coastal communities throughout Australia, where many settlements are at risk of future climate perturbations. Using the International Association for Public Participation framework for public participation, we analyse three local government led public participation initiatives in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Our analysis suggests there are three critical factors that can influence the level of public participation in the context of climate change adaptation: the technocratic approach to decision making; absent high order government support; and the lack of evaluation mechanisms for public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian governments have sought to invest in irrigation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of water delivery to rural properties and improve water supply and on-farm efficiency. A programme of rationalising irrigation infrastructure has attracted criticism and doubts about its likely success. Attitude theory in the form of the Reasoned Action Model was applied to understand the intentions of landowners to connect to a ‘modernised’ irrigation system. Attitudes towards connecting to the system, social norms and perceptions of control over the behaviour provided an explanation of intentions to connect. Actual financial capability and other variables were important in discriminating a group of landowners who had already connected to the modernised system from farmers who had not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their lack of decision-making power, planners frequently prevail in advancing strong sustainability agendas. A review of leadership and planning literature suggests that they employ collaborative practice. Using an ethnographic methodology that draws from the stories and actions of six planners with sustainability mandates, supplemented with a survey of their staff and colleagues, this research examines how they do it. Findings suggest that despite variety in their organisational contexts, the planners relied on strong visions and on forging and maintaining relationships to set and implement sustainability mandates. The planners deployed participative and collaborative values selectively in support of their mandates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]