Description

Abstract: Increased awareness of the complex interactions among humans, their environment, and potential land management decisions has created a demand for integrated multidisciplinary decision support tools within a spatial framework. A prototype of a spatial decision support system (SDSS) that incorporates biophysical and economic models into a single user interface, known as the Spatial Environment and Agricultural Decision Support tool (SEADS), has been implemented within the River Njoro watershed. Spatial and nonspatial data are integrated into a spatially and temporally distributed modeling structure, where complex interactions can be studied through scenario building at watershed and subwatershed scales. Using SEADS, the Sustainable Management of Rural Watersheds (SUMAWA) project has successfully examined how land management decisions can be compared across multiple stakeholder groups with competing interests. From the user’s perspective, SEADS provides an environment where policy makers and stakeholders can gain greater understanding of the complexities involved in land management decision making. Through increased knowledge of the system, policy makers and stakeholders are able to make more informed and, ultimately, more appropriate long-term land management decisions.