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A Review of Multiple Criteria Analysis for Water Resource Planning and Management

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Abstract

Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) is a framework for ranking or scoring the overall performance of decision options against multiple objectives. The approach has widespread and growing application in the field of water resource management. This paper reviews 113 published water management MCA studies from 34 countries. It finds that MCA is being heavily used for water policy evaluation, strategic planning and infrastructure selection. A wide range of MCA methods are being used with the fuzzy set analysis, paired comparison and outranking methods being most common. The paper also examines the motivations for adopting MCA in water management problems and considers future research directions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 306 Carmody Rd, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia

    Stefan Hajkowicz & Kerry Collins

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  1. Stefan Hajkowicz
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  2. Kerry Collins
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Correspondence to Stefan Hajkowicz.

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This study was funded by the eWater CRC (www.ewatercrc.com.au).

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Hajkowicz, S., Collins, K. A Review of Multiple Criteria Analysis for Water Resource Planning and Management. Water Resour Manage 21, 1553–1566 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-006-9112-5

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