Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria
Coastal socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems with nonlinear changing properties and multi-scale dynamics. They are influenced by unpredictable coastal hazards accentuated by the effects of climate change, and they can quickly be altered if critical thresholds are crossed. Additional...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.845348/full |
| _version_ | 1818480223850594304 |
|---|---|
| author | Philippe Sauvé Philippe Sauvé Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Mathias Glaus |
| author_facet | Philippe Sauvé Philippe Sauvé Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Mathias Glaus |
| author_sort | Philippe Sauvé |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Coastal socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems with nonlinear changing properties and multi-scale dynamics. They are influenced by unpredictable coastal hazards accentuated by the effects of climate change, and they can quickly be altered if critical thresholds are crossed. Additional pressures come from coastal activities and development, both of which attracting stakeholders with different perspectives and interests. While coastal defence measures (CDMs) have been implemented to mitigate coastal hazards for centuries, a lack of knowledge and tools available to make informed decision has led to coastal managers favouring the choice of seawalls or rock armours with little consideration for socio-ecological systems features, and stakeholders’ priorities. Though it is not currently widely applied in coastal zone management, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a tool that can be useful to facilitate decision making. PROMETHEE, an outranking method, was chosen to support the multicriteria decision analysis for the evaluation of CDMs in the context of four study sites characterized by distinct environmental features. The aim was to determine the relevance and benefits of a MCDA by integrating coastal zone stakeholders in a participatory decision-making process in order to select CDMs that are better adapted to the whole socio-ecological system. First, in a series of five workshops, stakeholders were asked to identify and weigh criteria that were relevant to their local conditions. Second and third, CDMs were evaluated in relation to each criterion within the local context, then, hierarchized. Initial results show that vegetation came first in three of the four sites, while rock armour ranked first in the fourth site. A post-evaluation of the participatory process indicated that the weighting phase is an effective way to integrate local knowledge into the decision-making process, but the identification of criteria could be streamlined by the presentation of a predefined list from which participants could make a selection. This would ensure criteria that are standardized, and in a format that is compatible with the MCDA. Coupled with a participatory process MCDA proved to be a flexible methodology that can synthetize multiple aspects of the problem, and contribute in a meaningful way to the coastal engineering and management decision-making process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:20:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aafe0cee6e664e72b312e7c095151cb7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T11:20:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-aafe0cee6e664e72b312e7c095151cb72022-12-22T01:50:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452022-04-01910.3389/fmars.2022.845348845348Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of CriteriaPhilippe Sauvé0Philippe Sauvé1Pascal Bernatchez2Pascal Bernatchez3Pascal Bernatchez4Mathias Glaus5Chaire de recherche en géosciences côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, CanadaQuébec-Océan, Université Laval, Québec, QC, CanadaChaire de recherche en géosciences côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, CanadaQuébec-Océan, Université Laval, Québec, QC, CanadaCentre d’études Nordiques (CEN), Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, CanadaLaboratoire de la STEPPE-ETS, École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, QC, CanadaCoastal socio-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems with nonlinear changing properties and multi-scale dynamics. They are influenced by unpredictable coastal hazards accentuated by the effects of climate change, and they can quickly be altered if critical thresholds are crossed. Additional pressures come from coastal activities and development, both of which attracting stakeholders with different perspectives and interests. While coastal defence measures (CDMs) have been implemented to mitigate coastal hazards for centuries, a lack of knowledge and tools available to make informed decision has led to coastal managers favouring the choice of seawalls or rock armours with little consideration for socio-ecological systems features, and stakeholders’ priorities. Though it is not currently widely applied in coastal zone management, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a tool that can be useful to facilitate decision making. PROMETHEE, an outranking method, was chosen to support the multicriteria decision analysis for the evaluation of CDMs in the context of four study sites characterized by distinct environmental features. The aim was to determine the relevance and benefits of a MCDA by integrating coastal zone stakeholders in a participatory decision-making process in order to select CDMs that are better adapted to the whole socio-ecological system. First, in a series of five workshops, stakeholders were asked to identify and weigh criteria that were relevant to their local conditions. Second and third, CDMs were evaluated in relation to each criterion within the local context, then, hierarchized. Initial results show that vegetation came first in three of the four sites, while rock armour ranked first in the fourth site. A post-evaluation of the participatory process indicated that the weighting phase is an effective way to integrate local knowledge into the decision-making process, but the identification of criteria could be streamlined by the presentation of a predefined list from which participants could make a selection. This would ensure criteria that are standardized, and in a format that is compatible with the MCDA. Coupled with a participatory process MCDA proved to be a flexible methodology that can synthetize multiple aspects of the problem, and contribute in a meaningful way to the coastal engineering and management decision-making process.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.845348/fullcoastal engineeringcoastal defence measuredecision-makingintegrated coastal zone management (ICZM)participatory processcoastal protection |
| spellingShingle | Philippe Sauvé Philippe Sauvé Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Pascal Bernatchez Mathias Glaus Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria Frontiers in Marine Science coastal engineering coastal defence measure decision-making integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) participatory process coastal protection |
| title | Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria |
| title_full | Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria |
| title_fullStr | Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria |
| title_short | Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Assist in the Selection of Coastal Defence Measures: Involving Coastal Managers and Professionals in the Identification and Weighting of Criteria |
| title_sort | multicriteria decision analysis to assist in the selection of coastal defence measures involving coastal managers and professionals in the identification and weighting of criteria |
| topic | coastal engineering coastal defence measure decision-making integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) participatory process coastal protection |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.845348/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT philippesauve multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria AT philippesauve multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria AT pascalbernatchez multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria AT pascalbernatchez multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria AT pascalbernatchez multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria AT mathiasglaus multicriteriadecisionanalysistoassistintheselectionofcoastaldefencemeasuresinvolvingcoastalmanagersandprofessionalsintheidentificationandweightingofcriteria |