Decision Support Systems For Sustainable Development

In recent years, much work has been done in formulating and clarifying the concept of sustainable development and related theoretical and research issues. Now, the challenge has shifted to designing and stimulating processes of effective planning and decision-making, at all levels of human activity, in such a way as to achieve local and global sustainable development. Information technology can help a great deal in achieving sustainable development by providing well-designed and useful tools for decision makers. One such tool is the decision support system, or DSS. This book explores the area of DSS in the context of sustainable development. As DSS is a very new technique, especially in the developing world, this book will serve as a reference text, primarily for managers, government officials, and information professionals in developing countries. It covers the concept of sustainable development, defines DSS and how it can be used in the planning and management of sustainable development, and examines the state of the art in DSS use. Other interested readers will include students, teachers, and analysts in information sciences; DSS designers, developers, and implementors; and international development agencies.

Modern engineering approaches focus on the design and operation of systems and products in a way that allows for the sustainable use of resources. Sustainable engineering aims to provide frameworks that ensure development without compromising the quality of the natural environment and the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this context, decision making processes must be enriched by approaches and tools that allow decision makers to consider a wide range of sustainable options. Recently, great progress has been taking place in the fields of operation research and management science, where intelligent quantitative analysis, statistics, and prediction analytics are employed in a variety of interdisciplinary research areas, aiming to assist policy makers and managers with the consideration of a variety of sustainable options. This Special Issue consists of a 17-paper collection with published approaches and models that are designed to give answers for environmental impact and sustainability assessment, risk and knowledge management assessment, lifecycle assessment and energy management. Five papers are dedicated to advances in different literature review topics. The remaining papers deal with a variety of engineering approaches to address decision making which involves: mulricriteria decision analysis, ecological footprint and biocapacity estimations, fuzzy prediction models, advanced statistical analysis, simulation, systems dynamics model, task ontology and integration definition function modeling.

As national and international concern over sustainable resources becomes more prevalent, the need for decision support systems (DSS) increases. The applicable uses of a successful system can assist in the sustainability of resources, as well as the efficiency and management of the agri-environment industry. Decision Support Systems in Agriculture, Food and the Environment: Trends, Applications and Advances presents the development of DSS for managing agricultural and environmental systems, focusing on the exposition of innovative methodologies, from web-mobile systems to artificial intelligence and knowledge-based DSS, as well as their applications in every aspect from harvest planning to international food production and land management. This book provides an in depth look into the growing importance of DSS in agriculture.

Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Computing investigates recent technological advances in decision support systems models designed to solve real world applications. The book provides a broad overview of digital technology transformation as applied to the circular economy which is seeking to drive improvements in scientific research, communication, logistics, automation, production, and the improved sustainability of these processes and products. The book explores applications of decision support for sustainable development across supply chain management, business intelligence, agriculture, aviation, communications, and finance. Provides a broad overview of emerging trends and technologies in decision support systems applications Investigates recent trends and core concepts in digital technology transformation as applied to the circular economy and sustainable development Analyzes the application of decision support systems models across a range of case studies and processes which rely on multi-criteria decision-making and have been designed specifically to improve overall sustainability

Acclaim for the first edition: ŠThe book Handbook of Sustainable Development Planning is perfect for readers in different professions who deal with planning and development management. It contains interesting theoretical considerations, provoke

The management of data to understand complex and interwoven processes of sustainable development has been a great challenge for researchers, planners, and decision makers. Remote sensing and GIS-based policy decision support systems not only help them to solve spatially related environmental and socio-economic issues; they also provide a powerful tool for integrating spatial and non-spatial datasets with analytical and spatial models and knowledge domains. Recent advances in the modern spatial tools of remote sensing and GIS combined with advanced computation techniques have enhanced the efficiency and capabilities of policy development. This book expands the scientific knowledge base in various physical and socio-economic issues among scholars, planners, and decision makers for policy development and research regarding sustainable development. It also demonstrates the importance of modern spatial decision support tools of remote sensing and GIS to better understand sustainable development processes and policy development. Furthermore, the book discusses case studies providing new insights as to how remote sensing and GIS-based decision support systems contribute to understanding physical and socio-economic processes and developing pragmatic policy for sustainable development. This book covers land surface temperature, hydrological processes, terrain mapping, flood and landslide hazards, land use and land cover dynamics, crime hotspots, urban health issues, tourism, agriculture, forest management, flood mitigation, urban sprawl, and village information systems, among others. Readers will find this book to be an invaluable resource for understanding and solving diverse physical and human issues for policy development related to sustainable planning and management.