Abstract

In this paper, a decision support system (DSS) for an integrated coastal management (ICM) is developed, where decisions arise from a maximisation algorithm, the stakeholders’ involvement in the choice among alternative management strategies is favoured, complicated assessment procedures for non-economical indicators or relative weights to combine economic, social and environmental indicators are not used, the integration between economic activities and environmental status is depicted by referring to initial and sustanability conditions, both human and environmental dynamics are taken into account, a spatial structure is adopted, by finding a compromise between economic information (available at macro-level) and ecological information (available at micro-level), several economic, social and environmental policies are considered, predictions are based on a knowledge base that can be easily collected and that is reasonably reliable, by calculating the confidence level of results. Its application to Reghaa and Heraoua municipalities, Algeria, suggests that the suggested DSS for an ICM meets all design and role characteristics required by Westmacott (2001) Journal of Environmental Management 62: 55-74.