Incorporating stakeholder preferences for land conservation: Weights and measures in spatial MCA

Spatial multicriteria models may provide an equitable and efficient means for incorporating people's preferences in social decisions. However, in order for these tools to be effective, they should include criteria that are locally relevant and measurable in a spatial framework. This paper integrates measures of stakeholder preferences with GIS data in a spatial multicriteria framework for identifying high-priority areas for land conservation. Individual participants' preference weights were measured using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Individual preferences were aggregated into groups representing outside experts and local stakeholders. Aggregate preferences differed across groups, illustrating an affinity for local knowledge of stakeholders vs. universal broader issues by outside experts. The mapping of priority areas for conservation was relatively unaffected by the weights, mostly due to the lack of spatial measures for locally relevant criteria.