New Modelling Paradigms in Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management

The broad range of applications of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to forest management has demonstrated its potential as an interdisciplinary methodological framework for decision-making. However, traditional MCDA methods have also shown to have some limitations in addressing the inherent complexity of forest resources management and planning problems. This is particularly true in sustainable forest management due to its complex nature, general lack of information, uncertainty, and the existence of multiple interests that are often in conflict. Researchers and practitioners are continually challenged to develop new methodological approaches that are able to expand MCDA capabilities in order to promote its use in a wider and more realistic range of forest management problems such as sustainability. This paper presents a critical review of MCDA methods applied to sustainable and multi-objective forest management. Based on this review, the paper also proposes a call for new MCDA paradigms more suitable to deal with the complexity of the decision problems inherent in sustainable forest management. ____________________________________________________________________________