Introducing the use of integrated Decision Support System in Natural Resources Planning

Abstract

The target subject of Natural Resources Planning (NRP) includes various systems and their elements, all of which are centered around the natural resource system. Given this characteristic complexity and a high degree of uncertainty, it is impossible to holistically understand the entire target system of NRP. Therefore, collecting the knowledge and experiences of all the stakeholders in all associated systems and then drawing a more adaptive agreement are regarded as the best method for dealing with this complexity and uncertainty. However, varying interests and values among stakeholders often lead to generation of deep conflicts and further prevent them from moving the process forward. The core problem lies in finding out how to reach consensus by managing conflicts arising from various group interactions; this necessitated the creation of appropriate heuristics with guidelines and framework. However, the current implementation of the appropriate and comprehensive heuristics like the Consensus Building approach faces various challenges regarding time and cost. In this thesis, I introduce the Decision Support System (DSS), which has previously been developed and utilized mainly in the management field, for providing a new platform for conducting a participatory process and facilitating the process by mitigating current challenges. I examined the various functions and aspects of multiple DSSs that could be beneficial to the process of NRP.

(cont.) Moreover, along with advanced Information Technology, (1) various heuristic guidelines and framework designed to effectively and efficiently reap the benefits of collaboration and (2) system perspective methodologies that can give comprehensive insights across the system and be used to make stakeholder deliberations are closely examined. In particular, concerning the integrated features of DSS that could potentially be specialized for the NRP participatory process, diverse efforts to incorporate system perspective methodology with other analysis tools or to embed participatory heuristics in the IT platform are more rigorously investigated. The thesis discovered various overlapping areas among the three different areas of research and propose that these can be used in effectively arranging them for further collaboration in the development of the integrated DSS specialized for the participatory process in NRP (NRP-DSS). Finally, the thesis recommends a summarized list of the necessary conditions and challenges involved in developing NRP-DSS.