We explore a goal-oriented as opposed to a problem-oriented approach to DSS
development for ecosystem management. Ecosystem management ordinarily is g
uided by a set of goals that may conflict in various ways. Problems are per
ceived obstacles to realizing goals. Identifying and resolving conflicts be
tween goals, testing current or projected situations for goal satisfaction,
and problem identification all require a robust model of the goal structur
e for the intended domain. The lowest level of this goal structure must be
represented as desirable future conditions consisting of proposed values fo
r observable indicators. A model of the causal, legal, and other institutio
nal relations between these desirable future conditions is also needed. Two
projects based on a goal-oriented approach to DSS development are describe
d. The first project has produced an initial prototype that incorporates go
als for forest management in rules representing three tiers: management uni
t goals, stand-level goals, and desirable future conditions. The second, at
an initial knowledge acquisition stage, is an attempt to develop a partici
patory decision-making methodology for socially and environmentally sensiti
ve economic development in Central America. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.
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