Multicriteria techniques in ecological evaluation: an example using the Analytical Hierarchy Process

The evaluation of sites based on ecological data can be carried out utilising a variety of criteria or indices. These criteria are often used in isolation, although it may sometimes be more appropriate to take the multiplicity of criteria into account. In this paper a multicriteria technique, the Analytical Hierarchy Process, hitherto not used in conservation evaluation, is described and illustrated with a simple hypothetical example. In order to compare this technique with some of the more commonly used indices, an application was carried out using the data given in Gotmark et al. (1986). Results showed that the Analytical Hierarchy Process should be considered as an alternative method for ecological evaluation analysis.