Shore Protection Conflicting Objectives in Decision Making

by David M. Chapman, Univ of Sydney, Sydney, Australia,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Zone '91

Abstract:

Shore protection, in an era of rising sea levels and declining sediment budgets, is emerging as a priority item in coastal management. Yet to the traditional conflict between man and nature for the land at the land/sea interface we now have added the diverse goals of those who have interests in the use of that interface. This paper sets up a Multiple-Objective Planning Balance Sheet model for the exploration of the effectiveness of different management strategies, and shows how a microcomputer based model may be used to assist in the finding of the optimal solution, given that criteria for the evaluation of the effectiveness of any particular strategy in achieving many of the objectives can be expressed only on ordinal scales. The model also reveals to the decision makers the stability of any particular solution, and assists in determining the degree to which any particular objective is significant in influencing the outcome of a decision. The model is explicated by application to a composite example using data drawn from eastern Australia.

Subject Headings: Coastal management | Computer models | Decision making | Sediment | Scale models | Erosion | Budgets | Australia

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