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

Federal agencies have taken steps to include the public in a wide range of environmental decisions. Although some form of public participation is often required by law, agencies usually have broad discretion about the extent of that involvement. Approaches vary widely, from holding public information-gathering meetings to forming advisory groups to actively including citizens in making and implementing decisions. Proponents of public participation argue that those who must live with the outcome of an environmental decision should have some influence on it. Critics maintain that public participation slows decision making and can lower its quality by including people unfamiliar with the science involved. This book concludes that, when done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies' decisions about the environment. Well-managed public involvement also increases the legitimacy of decisions in the eyes of those affected by them, which makes it more likely that the decisions will be implemented effectively. This book recommends that agencies recognize public participation as valuable to their objectives, not just as a formality required by the law. It details principles and approaches agencies can use to successfully involve the public.

Have you ever considered how much effect information technology has on society throughout the world? Progress often places lower income and marginalized communities at a distinct disadvantage. Community Participation and Geographic Information Systems, however, offers a detailed look at numerous incidences around the world where communities have ac

Multicriteria analysis, or MCA, has been increasingly used in environmental decision-making to support the identification of suitable courses of action by integrating factual information with value-based information collected through stakeholder engagement. Multicriteria Analysis for Environmental Decision-Making provides an introduction to the key concepts of MCA and includes a series of case studies that illustrate the application of MCA to a variety of environmental decision-making problems ranging from protected area zoning to landfill siting, and from forest restoration to environmental impact assessment of tourism infrastructures. A compact reference that can be used by researchers, practitioners and planners/decision makers, Multicriteria Analysis for Environmental Decision-Making can also serve as a textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in a broad range of curricula.

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.