Abstract
In our complex society, how to evaluate, how to fulfill accountability, and how to achieve agreement are problematic. Some methods have been developed as decision aids in the environmental sciences. However, these methods still can not adequately handle diversity, complexity and uncertainty. Up to now, we have studied the possibilities of using multicriteria analysis for environmental evaluations and as a decision aid. After we present an outline of past research on the application of multicriteria analysis to environmental problems in recent years, we discuss the problems of future studies.
In this study, we focused on theoretical problems of multicriteria analysis. The main problems of multicriteria analysis are how to identify criteria, how to score performance, and how to decide weight. First, we discuss the choices of criteria for multicriteria analysis (MCA).
MCA has a strong advantage for constructing a framework of complex decision problems such as environmental issues. How to choose criteria for the framework of an evaluation is very important. Therefore, we examined the idea of criterion, the problems of past studies, and some actual cases. Consequently, the results show that it is essential to choose criteria by stakeholder participation. However, it is basic to have a consensus on the aim of setting criteria.
JEL classification: D70, D81, D82, Q51, D53
