GIS-Based Multi-Criteria and Multi-Objective Evaluation for Sustainable Land-Use Planning (Case Study: Qaleh Ganj County, Iran) “Landuse Planning Using MCE and Mola”

Abstract

Land evaluation is a key factor in land-use spatial planning, affecting both success and sustainability. This study showcases the value of using the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) and multi-objective land allocation (MOLA) GIS decision-making tools determine the most favorable spatial development of various land-use types, for Qaleh Ganj County in Iran. Weighted linear combination (WLC) and ordered weighted averaging (OWA) were used to assess the potential of seven land uses based on predefined criteria. MOLA was also used for land-use zoning based on suitability. The results derived from these techniques indicate that the rangeland zone with 30.80% and the ecotourism zone with 22.9% have the highest suitability potential, and aquaculture with 0.26% and tourism with 0.24% have the lowest potential in Qaleh Ganj. Considering the 7 land uses and a lot of defined criteria, MCE and MOLA provided an automatic and flexible way of dealing with qualitative multi-dimensional environmental effects, factors, constraints and objectives. The combination of WLC and OWA helped to manage selection factors differently, as their level of risk and trade-off is different. The result can be considered as optimal suitability maps with an environmental preservation goal which can help to protect the natural environment of this area, and will also allow for continued economic development. The approach described in this study can help developing countries and the sensitive area facing environmental challenges due to rapid development. This approach and its application procedures can be applied to similar territorial contexts, where several territorial factors should be considered and taken into account.

Exact Zoning Optimization Model for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP)

“…Zones are usually defined using several available analytical and decision support tools to support zoning (e.g., Geographical Information Systems, GIS) (Santos et al, 2019). Figuratively, the identification of areas and the partitioning of space using the techniques of spatial analysis is one of the major purposes of GIS (Masoudi et al, 2021;Shirina and Parfenyukova, 2021). Zoning represents a cornerstone of MSP and an efficient management tool (Zoning, 1977;Korhonen, 1996;Liffmann et al, 2000;Day, 2002;Russ and Zeller, 2003;Airame, 2005;Fernandes et al, 2005;Foster et al, 2005;Dudley, 2008;Halpern et al, 2008).…”

Evaluating the Sustainable Land Use in Ecologically Fragile Regions: A Case Study of the Yellow River Basin in China

“…These approaches contain, for example, the development of integrated assessment frameworks that include expert and public input [ 15 ], the inclusion of relevant natural and economic indexes with a view to an integrated evaluation of SLU [ 16 ] and the inclusion of landscape ecological indexes that contribute to the spatial evaluation of SLU [ 17 , 18 ]. In addition, the goals of land sustainability, such as gender equality, cross-region coordination and land property protection, are receiving increasing attention worldwide [ 11 ], and the assessment of land use suitability for sustainable construction can contribute to higher sustainable development levels [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Modelling Coastal Development and Environmental Impacts: A Case Study Across Two Regional Towns in Australia

“…Many forms of land use planning models have recently been developed including Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based models and environmental planning models [43][44][45][46][47]. Environmental and land-use models can represent a range of topics, and the development of GIS has added to the development of these models and opened new horizons for the management and manipulation of spatial data sets [43,48,49].…”