ANP APPROACH FOR IMPROVING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLANNING

Environmental challenges decisions are often characterized by complexity, irreversibility and uncertainty. Much of the complexity arises from the multiple-use nature of goods and services, difficulty in monetary valuation of ecological services and the involvement of numerous stakeholders. From this point of view multicriteria techniques are considered as a promising framework to take into account conflictual, multidimensional, incommensurable and uncertain effects of decisions explicitly. Also principles and practice of public participation can serve to promote environmental equity for disadvantaged social groups. Thus the objective of this paper is to propose a new methodological approach based on the Analytic Network process (ANP) and to examine the scope and feasibility of the ANP in incorporating participatory approach.