Anderson Candace, Beazley Karen, Boxall James
J Environ Manage. 2009 May;90(6):2081-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2007.08.031. Epub 2008 Jul 29.
The effectiveness of a decision-support tool created to identify protected-area potential within the Nova Forest Alliance (NFA) of Nova Scotia, Canada is assessed from the perspective of a public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS) approach. The application sought to create an integrated GIS-based decision-support tool for community-focused communication and conservation assessment among NFA partners (including private woodland owners, government agencies, forest companies, and non-government organizations) and potential application within other model forests in Canada. The application illustrated that the GIS-based tool, once set up and populated with the necessary data, was able to generate effective visual alternatives to support decision making within the NFA community and elsewhere. However, from a PPGIS perspective, the application faced challenges that influenced the efficacy of its implementation: (1) limitations arose around data quality, use and sharing policies; (2) although opportunities for participation by the NFA partnership were initiated, these proved insufficient to achieve adequate engagement, buy in and support for the process and outcomes; and (3) the expert-grounded GIS-based tool requires a greater degree of expertise than may currently be present in the community. These challenges limit its ongoing use in the NFA and its potential utility in other model forests. For PPGIS-decision-support applications to be effective in the NFA and elsewhere, it is suggested that the following conditions be met: (1) implementation of geographically based data policies to allow for greater data accessibility, specifically with fewer bureaucratic and private sector barriers; (2) engagement of community partners in the initial project design, goal-setting and subsequent stages, even if this requires extensions to anticipated timelines; and (3) development of effective participatory technical systems that meet the needs of participants without being so complex as to constitute a barrier to their use.
从公共参与式地理信息系统（PPGIS）方法的角度，评估了为确定加拿大新斯科舍省新森林联盟（NFA）内的保护区潜力而创建的决策支持工具的有效性。该应用程序旨在创建一个基于GIS的综合决策支持工具，用于NFA合作伙伴（包括私人林地所有者、政府机构、森林公司和非政府组织）之间以社区为重点的沟通和保护评估，并在加拿大其他示范森林中进行潜在应用。该应用程序表明，基于GIS的工具一旦建立并填充必要的数据，就能生成有效的可视化方案，以支持NFA社区及其他地方的决策。然而，从PPGIS的角度来看，该应用程序面临着影响其实施效果的挑战：（1）在数据质量、使用和共享政策方面存在限制；（2）尽管启动了NFA合作伙伴参与的机会，但事实证明这些机会不足以实现充分的参与、认可和对该过程及结果的支持；（3）基于专家的GIS工具需要的专业知识程度可能高于社区目前的水平。这些挑战限制了它在NFA中的持续使用及其在其他示范森林中的潜在效用。为了使PPGIS决策支持应用程序在NFA及其他地方有效运行，建议满足以下条件：（1）实施基于地理的数据政策，以提高数据的可获取性，特别是减少官僚和私营部门的障碍；（2）让社区合作伙伴参与项目的初始设计、目标设定及后续阶段，即使这需要延长预期的时间线；（3）开发有效的参与式技术系统，满足参与者的需求，同时又不会过于复杂而成为使用障碍。
