Key points
- A new planning tool simultaneously considers environmental, social and economic goals.
- It shows what could be gained or lost under different priorities, making trade-offs easier to see.
- The software developers say it will help governments and communities navigate complex decisions.
An open-source software tool to help find a sweet spot between competing environmental and development demands has been launched by University of Queensland researchers.
The tool is for governments and communities navigating complex decisions around protecting and restoring nature while also meeting future food and energy needs.
PhD candidate Sandra Neubert from UQ's School of the Environment said the software could identify plans that simultaneously meet multiple objectives and navigate trade-offs between them
"Most spatial planning tools can only optimise one objective or goal at a time, such as conserving biodiversity or maintaining food production," Ms Neubert said.
"Our framework is designed to consider many ecological, social and economic goals at the same time, because there are usually many stakeholders and interest groups in planning decisions.
"The goals may include things like protecting a community's access to fishing grounds and supporting marine tourism while also increasing marine environment protections or ensuring future food and timber needs are met while also restoring a degraded ecosystem.
"Instead of producing a single plan, the tool provides a range of options that show what could be gained or lost under different priorities, making trade-offs easier to see.
"It will be able to guide informed discussions in which different scenarios can be considered and help an acceptable compromise."
The multi-objective optimisation tool is accessible, open-source, and can be used across land, freshwater and ocean planning in different countries.
It is an extension to prioritizr , spatial planning software developed at UQ by Dr Jeffrey Hanson.
Professor Anthony Richardson said the tool could help countries and communities meet global biodiversity targets and objectives such as food security and the community's need for housing and energy.
"By making multi-objective planning accessible to a much wider range of users, this tool has the potential to transform how conservation decisions are made," Professor Richardson said.
"It allows stakeholders to clearly see trade-offs between environmental, social and economic goals, leading to more robust plans and helping stakeholders find common ground more quickly."
Read the research behind the tool's development in the Journal of Applied Ecology.
