Application of Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Evaluation of Basin-Scale Water Resources Plans

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Multi-Criteria Decision- Making techniques (MCDM) are two common tools that could be employed to solve water resources problems. This paper presents a spatial MCDM (SMCDM), a combination of GIS and MCDM, for the purpose of water resources planning and management. This paper discusses an algorithmic process of a spatial multicriteria decision making (SMCDM) system whcih is developed for water resources planning. The developed SMCDM is useful for screening and prioritization of water resources alternativesthrough different scenarios. The supremacy of the proposed method over theconventional methods is to benefit from the integrated simulation of the entire water resources components within a basin. Furthermore, the proposed method considers different viewpoints of water resources development from economic, environmental, and social aspects. These characteristics make the proposed SMCDM as a significant tool which could be used in the integrated water resources management process. An example of applying the developed system in Karkheh river basin in Iran is presented

Keywords:

Spatial Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis , Water Resources Planning , Prioritization , Karkheh River Basin