Modelling sustainable development planning: a multicriteria decision conferencing approach

Abstract

Development planning is multidimensional in nature. On the one hand, it addresses economic growth, and on the other, it deals with economic development of the whole nation. Sustainable development, on the other hand, emphasizes the need for integration of economics and environment, as well as promoting intra- and intergenerational equity. While the literature deals extensively with the issues of sustainable development, it lacks a prescription of an easy-to-use, yet rigorous, methodology for it. In this paper, we offer a decision conferencing approach to sustainable development planning based on a multicriteria model. The integrated model is presented and applied to a sustainable development planning exercise in a third world country. Sample results are presented and detailed sensitivity analyses show the environmental variables that are of major concern.