Multi-criteria evaluation in paradigmatic perspectives of agricultural environmental management

Abstract

Agriculture is one of the primary activities that affects the environment due to natural resources consumption. Therefore, systematic environmental management for the agricultural sector is required. This study was conducted to analyze the paradigmatic perspective and strategies of agricultural environmental management in Iran. Considering basic criteria of environmental management, three paradigms of frontier economics, eco-development and deep ecology were compared using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The AHP, is a multi-criteria decision making techniques which is useful when there are different alternatives or indicators in decision making. Comparisons were based on the viewpoints of 117 policy makers, superior managers and main elites and agriculture sector researchers. Environmental managerial strategies also have been studied. Findings revealed paradoxes among the paradigmatic perspectives and selected strategies of different agricultural stakeholders which reduce their effective interactions. Frontier economics is the dominant viewpoint of key agricultural policy makers and other governmental executives. They prefer independent reactive strategies to cope with environmental challenges. Agricultural researchers and private sector authorities believe in eco-development. They have selected cooperative proactive strategies in this regard. Finally, deep ecology has the highest priority according to environmental specialists, who endorse strategic maneuvering and believe in modifying, rethinking and redesigning previous strategies. A paradigm shift, as well as consistency between paradigmatic perspectives and executive strategies, is suggested.

An integrated approach of Ecological Footprint (EF) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in human ecology: A base for planning toward sustainability

“…These two executive groups were similar in prioritizing the frontier economics paradigm and considering deep ecology as the least important paradigm with noticeable difference. The results regarding the dominant paradigmatic perspectives of agricultural policy makers, top managers and other authorities are the same with Fatemi and Rezaei-Moghaddam [54].…”

“…The conceptual model of this phase was mainly designed by the human ecology model of Duncan in 1961 called POET which enables one to see the complex, reciprocal relationships among population, organization, environment as well as technology. As it is seen in the research theoretical model (Fig 1 ), "villages population" is considered as independent variable due to POET model, five other variables including "extension managerial activities" and "social participation" [52,53] which shows the extension experts relationships with their target groups (farmers and rural people) and also the attitudes of rural households toward different environmental management paradigms of "frontier economics", "deep ecology" and "eco-development" [8,54] are represent as the extension organization considered as independent variables in the study…”

A mechanism of disaster management in Korea: typhoons accompanied by flooding

“…While identifying, developing, or evaluating the above mechanisms of disaster management, the issue of multi-criteria has been fully addressed. As an example, the Analytical Hierarchy Process, which was introduced by Thomas L. Saaty in 2006, has been considered as one of the most frequently-utilized techniques in the field (Fatemi and Rezaei-Moghaddam, 2019). The Analytical Hierarchy Process is used to analyze unstructured barriers or challenges around disaster management in particular, by referring to multi-criteria, that is, when there are various quantitative or qualitative indicators or alternatives regarding disaster management, the Analytical Hierarchy Process has been appropriately used for the mechanisms of disaster management.…”

Implementation of multi-criteria decision method for selection of suitable material for development of horizontal wind turbine blade for sustainable energy generation

“…It is worth knowing that electricity generated from the wind is affordable and is a clean energy generation (Vidadili et al, 2017). Power generating via the wind turbine will aid the nation in achieving a sustainable development goal (Fayomi et al, 2018).…”

“…MCDM is consistent, very simple to apply, and has several methods. i.e., AHP, DEA-CCR model, entropy method, EDAS, FAHP, TOPSIS, TOPSIS using Excel, and WASPA (Fatemi and Rezaei-Moghaddam, 2019;Almeida, 2019). Researchers use these methods either to solve the issues of choices of location, supply chain, and materials selections for the design of mechanical systems (Zavadskas and Turskis, 2011).…”