Decision support model for participatory management of water resource

Abstract

Water resources are unevenly distributed across the territory and there is no stability concerning the availability of these resources. Conflicts over water use, particularly in situations where these resources are shared with other localities, require a participatory governance focused on cooperation and conflict resolution. For this reason, this study proposes a group decision model focusing on the use of the Problem Structuring Method (PSM) to assist decision-makers in identifying decision alternatives and evaluating them based on a voting system to concentrate the group decision around the relevant alternatives. Therefore, this group decision support model allows a full understanding of the problem by decision-makers and encourages the participation of those involved in a structured manner, reducing the negative consequences and dissatisfaction of those involved.