Optimization of regional economic and environmental systems under fuzzy and random uncertainties

Environmental problems associated with socio-economic development have been growing concerns faced by many regional and/or national authorities. However, effective planning may encounter difficulties since uncertainties existing in a number of impact factors and pollution-related processes are often not well acknowledged and reflected. This study advances an interval-fuzzy chance-constrained programming (IFCP) method for planning regional economic and environmental systems, where uncertainties presented as intervals, fuzzy sets and probability distributions can be tackled. The developed method is applied to a real-world case for economic and environmental planning in the New Binhai District in the Municipality of Tianjin, China. Two scenarios based on multiple environmental constraints are examined. The results can help identify desired alternatives for planning regional development strategies, where compromised schemes are provided under an integrated consideration of economic efficiency and environmental protection under multiple uncertainties. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.