ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a geographic information systems (GIS)-based approach for suitability assessment and conflict resolution. Participatory planning schemes have been integrated within GIS through multi-criteria and multi-objective decision making procedures. Decision rules are developed through a multi-criteria/multi-objective process integrated into a GIS. The suitability assessment consists of the application of multi-criteria and multi-objective procedures in the GIS. A land suitability assessment is the planning procedure of determining the fitness of a given tract of land for specified uses. The vegetation and land use layer are created by means of satellite image interpretation. The rest of the layers are digitized into the GIS from corresponding thematic maps or, in the case of elevation layer, derived from a digital elevation model. Conflicts are predicted when two or more sectors with competing interactions show a high relative suitability for the same tract of land.
