An interactive, online geographic information system (GIS) was developed to enhance the involvement of stakeholders in the public participation processes of site selection issues in the marine environment. Displaying educational material and interactive maps of relevant data, this new tool allows users to input personal preferences for the criteria they value in the siting decision, and produces a map showing the most and least suitable sites according to the user's weighting of the criteria. Current decision-making processes focus on finding an optimum solution from a number of alternatives using an objective analysis of the criteria, but are often inaccessible to many stakeholders, and do not consider the fairness of the outcome to the stakeholders. This tool is intended to educate stakeholders and enhance their involvement in the public decision-making process. To demonstrate the interactive, online GIS concept, a website called eSite was assembled, using as its case study the hypothetical issue of siting marine reserves within the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Marine resource protection is a controversial issue with many stakeholders in New England, where fishing in the Gulf of Maine has a long history, and human activities have had significant impacts on the marine environment. Marine reserves are an emerging tool for protecting marine ecosystems and enhancing marine resources, and the siting of reserves is an important emerging issue. Pre and post-surveys were conducted as part of the demonstration site to evaluate eSite. It was shown to be effective at increasing understanding of marine reserves and was perceived as a useful tool in improving the decision-making process.

The objective of this document is to illustrate the ways in which Geographical Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and mapping can play a role in the development and management of marine aquaculture. The perspective is global. The approach is to employ example applications that have been aimed at resolving many of the important issues in marine aquaculture. The underlying purpose is to stimulate the interest of individuals in the government, industry and educational sectors of marine aquaculture to make more effective use of these tools. A brief introduction to spatial tools and their use in the marine fisheries sector precedes the example applications. The most recent applications have been selected to be indicative of the state of the art, allowing readers to make their own assessments of the benefits and limitations of use of these tools in their own disciplines. Also published in Chinese and Spanish.

Environmental applications have long been a core use of GIS. However, the effectiveness of GIS-based methods depends on the decision-making frameworks and contexts within which they are employed. GIS for Environmental Decision-Making takes an interdisciplinary look at the capacities of GIS to integrate, analyze, and display data on which decisions

In today's society, it is very common for decisions that influence us all to be made by a combination of interested parties, all with their own agenda. In this instance, how can we be sure that the decision is the correct one, not just decided by the group with the most political influence or most money? Such groups have now become fundamental decision-making units within and between organisations in most societies and are more often than not very complex structures. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Groupware can be used in several practical contexts to make sure that spatial decision problems are overcome in the most effective way. A fundamental aspect of a spatial decision problem is the matter of location. The complexity of spatial decision problems result from the multiplicity of stakeholders involved, their often conflicting interests, and the intangible variables of the decision environment. Examples of such problems include: where to locate a public facility, which brownfield redevelopment strategy to choose, which sites to select for environmental restoration, or which comprehensive land use plan to adopt. Good solutions to such problems -if they exist at all- are characterised by a certain minimum level of secretarial support; hence the decision-making process should involve experts, citizens, and interest groups alike. Such a collaborative approach to spatial decision-making needs methodology, tools, and application examples to inspire its adoption and more widespread use. This book sets out the key to the collaborative spatial decision-making approach: its theoretical basis, the requisite tools, and a number of application examples. GIS professionals and researchers should find this an invaluable guide to an emerging area of GIS

This Handbook provides a clear overview of how to achieve meaningful public participation in impact assessment (IA). It explores conceptual elements, including the democratic core of public participation in IA, as well as practical challenges, such as data sharing, with diverse perspectives from 39 leading academics and practitioners.