An interactive multiple-criteria analysis tool for land resources appraisal
AEZWIN, a Windows application of FAO's Agro-Ecological Zones methodology
for land resources appraisal, has been developed in collaboration
between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) and IIASA's Land Use Change project and Risk, Modeling and Policy
project.
When
evaluating the performance of alternative land utilization types,
often the specification of a single objective function does not adequately
reflect the preferences of decision-makers, which are of a multi-objective
nature in many practical problems dealing with resources. Therefore
interactive multi-criteria model analysis (MCMA) has been introduced
and applied to the analysis of AEZ models.
This new computer application has been designed to run under Windows (95/98 and NT). The program features modules for data management, land suitability and land productivity assessment and multiple-criteria model analysis (MCMA) tools for land use optimization. Examples are provided from a national AEZ study of Kenya. The software makes it possible to interactively generate models corresponding to various scenarios of land use and then to analyse these models using the MCMA software tools. A user-friendly interface with on-line tutorial has been implemented in order to permit use of the software also by persons with only very basic computer experience.
The software package is a specialized tool meant primarily for two
kinds of use:
-
land resources appraisal for land use planning and management. Potential users include land resources and land use specialists, agricultural and environmental planners in government ministries and research institutions. Capability to adapt the system to the user's own needs and to develop the required databases and scenarios is a prerequisite to use the software in projects and studies;
-
to teach and research the AEZ methodology of land resources appraisal. Users are university teachers, students and postgraduate researchers. The manual and software are for the above-mentioned technicians and not for casual users.
Good knowledge of the FAO AEZ methodology, as described in the full
documentation of the Kenya AEZ study (available from FAO), is required
in order to use the system.
IIASA technical reports: "AEZWIN: An Interactive Multiple-Criteria Analysis Tool for Land Resources Appraisal", number IR-98-051; "ISAAP - Interactive Specification and Analysis of Aspiration-Based Preferences", number IR-98-052; and Reprint from Applied Mathematics and Computation, Vol. 83, pp. 195-215 (1997), "Multiple Criteria Land Use Analysis", number RR-98-5, are available from IIASA's Publications Catalogue in PDF format.
Responsible for this page:
Elisabeth Kawczynski
Last updated:
16 Oct 2009
Schlossplatz 1