Validation procedures play an important role in establishing the credibilit
y of models, improving their relevance and acceptability. This article revi
ews the testing of models relevant to environmental and natural resource ma
nagement with particular emphasis on models used in multicriteria analysis
(MCA). Validation efforts for a model used in a MCA catchment management st
udy in North Queensland, Australia, are presented. Determination of face va
lidity is found to be a useful approach in evaluating this model, and sensi
tivity analysis is useful in checking the stability of the model. (C) 2000
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