Multi-dimensional evaluation and ranking of coastal areas using GIS and multiple criteria choice methods.

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by short-sighted management policies that focus on human activities rather than the systems that sustain them. The early assessment of the impacts of human activities on the quality of the environment in coastal areas is important for decision-making, particularly in cases of environment/development conflicts, such as environmental degradation and saturation in tourist areas. In the present study, a methodology was developed for the multi-dimensional evaluation and ranking of coastal areas using a set of criteria and based on the combination of multiple criteria choice methods and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The northeastern part of the island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, Greece was the case study area. A distinction in sub-areas was performed and they were ranked according to socio-economic and environmental parameters. The robustness of the proposed methodology was assessed using different configurations of the initial criteria and reapplication of the process. The advantages and disadvantages, as well as the usefulness of this methodology for comparing the status of coastal areas and evaluating their potential for further development based on various criteria, is further discussed.

[1]  M Buckley.  Multicriteria Evaluation: Measures, Manipulation, and Meaning , 1988 .

[2]  Richard A. Vollenweider,et al.  Coastal marine eutrophication: principles and control , 1992 .

[3]  N. Lam.  Spatial Interpolation Methods: A Review , 1983 .

[4]  Henk Voogd,et al.  A Survey of Qualitative Multiple Criteria Choice Models , 1985 .

[5]  Robert Kay,et al.  Coastal Planning and Management , 1999 .

[6]  R. Webster,et al.  Kriging: a method of interpolation for geographical information systems , 1990, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[7]  Craig Johnson,et al.  Using GIS and Image Processing Technology to Assist Wetland Planning, Protection, and Restoration in Coastal Louisiana , 1993 .

[8]  P. Lancaster.  Curve and surface fitting , 1986 .

[9]  Andrew Tasker,et al.  Human Impact on the Ecosystem. , 1982 .

[10]  P. Pizor.  Principles of Geographical Information Systems for Land Resources Assessment. , 1987 .

[11]  Stefano Belfiore,et al.  Recent developments in coastal management in the European Union , 2000 .

[12]  Josef Schmee,et al.  Outliers in Statistical Data (2nd ed.) , 1986 .

[13]  William Mackaness.  GIS/Lis Proceedings: 25-27 October 1994 Phoenix Arizona , 1994 .

[14]  Rhoda Catherine Ballinger,et al.  The management of the coastal zone of Europe , 1994 .

[15]  Marta Estrada,et al.  Marine ecological processes (2nd edn): by I. Valiela Springer-Veriag, 1995. DM98.00 hbk (xiv + 686 pages) ISBN 0 387 943218 , 1996 .

[16]  Stephen J. Carver,et al.  Integrating multi-criteria evaluation with geographical information systems , 1991, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[17]  Peter R. O'Regan.  The use of contemporary information technologies for coastal research and management : a review , 1996 .

[18]  Laxmi Rawat,et al.  The impacts of tourism on the environment of Mussoorie, Garhwal Himalaya, India , 2000 .

[19]  Robert Lanquar,et al.  Tourisme et environnement en Méditerranée : enjeux et prospective , 1995 .

[20]  H Voogd,et al.  Multicriteria Evaluation: Measures, Manipulation, and Meaning—A Reply , 1988 .

[21]  Scott T. McCreary,et al.  COASTS Institutional Arrangements for Managing Coastal Resources and Environments , 1990 .

[22]  Tom Pearson,et al.  Marine eutrophication and population dynamics: Proceedings of 25th European Marine Biology Symposium, edited by G. Colombo, I. Ferrari, V. U. Ceccherelli & R. Rossi; Olsen & Olsen, Fredensborg; 1992; 393 pp; price £ 92.00; ISBN 87-85215-19-8 , 1993 .

[23]  Michael F. Goodchild,et al.  Integrating GIS and spatial data analysis: problems and possibilities , 1992, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[24]  M. Karydis,et al.  Development of categorical mapping for quantitative assessment of eutrophication , 1998 .

[25]  J. Voogd,et al.  Multicriteria evaluation for urban and regional planning , 1982 .

[26]  Lucien Duckstein,et al.  A Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Approach to GIS-Based Land Suitability Evaluation , 1993, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[27]  Peter Nijkamp,et al.  A sensitivity analysis of multicriteria choice-methods: An application on the basis of the optimal site selection for a nuclear power plant , 1989 .

[28]  Harry Coccossis,et al.  Multicriteria Evaluation in Coastal Management , 1996 .

[29]  J. Stefels,et al.  Eutrophication in the North Sea: a literature survey , 1988 .

[30]  C. Gilbert,et al.  Information required for Integrated Coastal Zone Management by , 1999 .

[31]  Peter Nijkamp,et al.  Culture and Region: A Multidimensional Evaluation of Monuments , 1988 .

[32]  Harry Coccossis,et al.  Tourism and sustainability: perspectives and implications. , 1996 .

[33]  Vic Barnett,et al.  Outliers in Statistical Data , 1980 .

[34]  Penelope Vounatsou,et al.  A possible method for evaluating oligotrophy and eutrophication based on nutrient concentration scales , 1992 .

[35]  D. Rossiter.  Multiobjective Decision Support for Environmental Management , 1995 .

[36]  R. Kenchington,et al.  Decision making for marine environments , 1992 .

[37]  John R. Clark,et al.  Coastal ecosystem management: A technical manual for the conservation of coastal zone resources , 1977 .

[38]  P. Nijkamp,et al.  Measuring the unmeasurable , 1985 .

[39]  N. Cressie.  The origins of kriging , 1990 .

[40]  M. Karydis,et al.  Use of multiple criteria for eutrophication assessment of coastal waters , 1990, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[41]  Michael Karydis,et al.  Application of multicriteria choice-methods in assessing eutrophication , 1994, Environmental monitoring and assessment.