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Multi-Criteria Analysis Shell for Spatial Decision Support (MCAS-S)

MCAS-S is a generic framework for the use of data-sets in Multi Criteria Analysis. It is the latest of several MCA decision aids used in the Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry policy environment since the early 1990s. MCAS-S is currently being used at the national, regional and catchment scale for:

  • assessment of Australia's rangelands: analysing natural resources, patterns of use and commodity assets
  • assessment of land cover change and ecosystem services using the Vegetation Assets, States and Transitions (VAST) framework
  • assessing the contribution to ecologically sustainable development of regional areas for the National Land and Water Resources Audit.

MOSAIC

MOSAIC is an integrated spatial optimisation framework for exploring future land use and management options at regional and landscape scales. Critical spatial interactions and linkages such as resource use externalities, transport costs and habitat configuration are supported explicitly. MOSAIC provides the capability of identifying the social, environmental and economic trade-offs of changing the way land is managed in particular landscape contexts. MOSAIC is currently implemented as a plug-in to the EcoPlan software developed by Environment Australia. The user interface provides GIS functionality and utilises wizards to define scenarios — which specify how landscapes are valued—- and to develop allocations — which specify how each part of the landscape is managed.

Land Use Planning and Information System (LUPIS)

LUPIS is a micro computer spatial decision support system developed to facilitate the ranking of competing landuses or management regimes. The ranking reflects the degree to which each landuse collectively addresses issue induced guidelines and the importance of achieving each guideline. To identify preferred landuse or management strategies taking into account exercise specific guidelines proposed in response to user goals.

INSIGHT

To explore alternative land use policies against plausible price and climatic scenarios for the next 20 years. INSIGHT aims to support a balanced approach to policy development by helping resource managers consider the full range of social, economic and environmental assets valued by the community, and learn how they might change over time in response to external pressures and different policy options. Currently specific to the Lachlan catchment.

Decision facilitator

Decision Facilitator is used to work through decisions in meetings, and where prioritisation of criteria needs to be developed quickly by consensus.  Facilitator is a generic, multiple objective decision support tool for prioritising natural resource management options using decision criteria and a weighting scheme. Management options and decision criteria are defined using participatory processes with stakeholders, and the impacts of each management option are scored using measured data, simulation models and expert opinions. Criteria are defined to account for environmental, economic, social, cultural and legislative considerations.

Decision analyst

Supports the visualisation of multi-criteria decision making based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SMARTER.

Catchment Decision Assistant

CDA is a windows based software package that ranks resource management projects, issues or sites according to defined criteria and their importance. The multi-criteria analysis model used in CDA is the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with the purpose of AHP to allow decision makers to integrate both objective and subjective criteria in the decision making processes in a way easy for lay people to understand, whilst maintaining accountability, transparency and consistency.

Salinity Updates - e-newsletter

Salinity Updates bring snapshots of what is happening in salinity R&D and technology transfer across Australia. Separate editions are published bi-monthly for WA, SA & NT, Victoria and Tasmania, and for NSW and Queensland.

RipRap - e-newsletter

The newsletter provides information about new research, products and case studies, as well as a wrap up of what is happening around the nation in the area of riparian zone management.

Partners in Research for Development - e-newsletter

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research encourages Australia's agricultural scientists to use their skills for the benefit of developing countries and Australia. The Partners in Research for Development Magazine, reports on people who helped them achieve their goals and those who benefit from better policies, increased productivity and more sustainable agriculture. Each edition posted on the website, spotlights activities in a country or region, and presents stories grouped thematically around specific agricultural issues.