Large scale and high-stakes decision-making in ecosystem management is often complicated by the diverging preferences of distinct stakeholder groups. The Greater Everglades Ecosystem (GEE), a 500,000-acre subtropical coastal wetland located in South Florida, USA, provides an important source of ecological, economic, and social benefits for a variety of unique stakeholders. Decision-making in GEE restoration is complicated by the diverse interests of multiple stakeholders increasing the difficulty of response to ecological threats and the looming impacts of climate change. In order to facilitate decision-making, we devised a method for extracting the restoration outcome preferences of diverse stakeholders and GEE restoration technical experts through a combination of deliberative Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). With the added element of consensus decision-making, stakeholders and experts also engaged in social learning, exposing each other to unique perspectives and improved understanding of motivations behind preference decisions by agreeing on decisions as a group. Outcomes of existing potential solutions for GEE restoration were then measured through the use of ecological modeling, creating separate restoration scenarios with unique combinations of criteria. We then compared the combined preferences of the stakeholder and expert groups to the restoration alternatives to identify the most beneficial solution for all relevant parties.
Results/Conclusions
Through this project, we expect to present evidence that stakeholders with deep ideological rifts have the ability to make group decisions when mediated by effective processes based on social learning, mutual respect, and group consensus-building. We also expect to identify how GEE restoration scenarios match up with the preferences of stakeholders using social science decision-making tools utilized in this study. The use of MCDA in this case provides a unique opportunity to understand the importance of ecological factors that are often difficult to value economically. This collaborative process additionally promotes the principles of sustainable development through extensive stakeholder engagement and scientifically informed decision-making. We hope to contribute to the overall goal of effective and informed GEE restoration management aligned with the needs of stakeholders, informed by the input of experts, and applied to existing policy solutions. This research may also be applicable to similarly complex human-ecological systems, promoting sustainable and informed ecological management globally.