INCORPORATING LOCAL RESEARCHERS' AND DECISION MAKERS' PREFERENCES FOR GROUNDWATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN A SPATIAL MULTI-VOICED DECISION MODEL

LIMA M.L.; BARILARI A.; MASSONE H.; PASCUAL M.

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2022 vol. 302

0301-4797

Water is a crucial and highly sensitive political issue. The overexploitation of25 groundwater resources and deterioration of water quality caused by pollution as well as26 the deficiencies of the existing infrastructure require immediate attention. The main27 goal of this paper is to carry out a multi-voiced multicriteria analysis that integrates the28 preferences of local researchers and decision makers in a process aimed at prioritizing29 watersheds that require the implementation of groundwater management instruments.30 Using the Criterium Decision Plus (CDP) system, criteria and subcriteria were31 integrated into a spatial multi-voiced decision model for the prioritization of watersheds32 for groundwater resources management. The criteria selected were Groundwater33 quality, Groundwater quantity, Land use with potential pollutant load, Equity and34 Intrinsic aquifer vulnerability. Criteria and subcriteria preferences analysis were derived35 from workshops with local researchers and decision makers (voices). The spatial multi36voiced decision model identified five of the fourteen watersheds as very high to high37 priority for to attend to the needs of groundwater resources management. Based on the38 local researchers´ and decision makers´ preferences and hierarchy scheme of the multi39voiced decision model the main criteria and subcriteria that contributed to the final40 model results were identified. This study helped define the appropriate future actions41 for watersheds with very high to high priority, taking into account the preferences of42 local researchers and decision makers.