A robust optimization modelling approach for managing water and farmland use between anthropogenic modification and ecosystems protection under uncertainties

In this study, a dual inexact fuzzy radial chance-constrained programming (DIFRCCP) method was developed for planning water and farmland use management system with the consideration of the conflicts between anthropogenic modification and ecosystems protection. This method can effectively reflect and tackle the multiple uncertainties existing in water and farmland use activities and eco-environmental management, which can be expressed as regular and radial intervals, random boundary interval (RBI) and fuzzy sets. Particularly, it could ensure solutions feasible and near optimal with high probability when the data changes within a certain bound radii of ecological parameters. Meanwhile, the correlation consisting between the lower and upper bounds of RBI (i.e., water supply parameters) can get solved by the joint probability distribution function, further strengthening the robustness of developed model. Through computing the proposed model, the generated solutions could provide detail water and farmland use management plans between anthropogenic modification and ecosystems protection for decision makers, including farmland use arrangement, water allocations to various consumers, as well as ecological and environmental pollution control through balancing the tradeoffs among system profits, the probability of constraints violation and system reliability under reasonable protection levels and satisfaction degrees. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.