Group Decision Making Versus Expert Opinion in the Multi-Objective Analysis of Ecosystem Management

Ecological issues with demands for preserving the nature and multipurpose use of land have, along with existing economic criteria, become a key part of the modem concept of ecosystem management. Therefore, on one hand, the land owners and experts are faced with the land use decisions which maximize the profit and refer to ecological objectives, while on the other hand, the public, who benefits from the amenity value of the ecosystem, specifically derives its own scenario of decisions. As such, an ecosystem management problem is a satisfactory attainment of multiple, but conflicting, objectives (Zadnik 200 I, 2002).