Fuzzy multiple criteria forestry decision making based on an integrated VIKOR and AHP approach

Forestation and forest preservation in urban watersheds are issues of vital importance as forested watersheds not only preserve the water supplies of a city but also contribute to soil erosion prevention. The use of fuzzy multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) in urban forestation has the advantage of rendering subjective and implicit decision making more objective and transparent. An additional merit of fuzzy MCDA is its ability to accommodate quantitative and qualitative data. In this paper an integrated VIKOR-AHP methodology is proposed to make a selection among the alternative forestation areas in Istanbul. In the proposed methodology, the weights of the selection criteria are determined by fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices of AHP. It is found that Omerli watershed is the most appropriate forestation district in Istanbul. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.