The green economy for sustainable development. An S-MCA-OWA approach in the siting process for Short Rotation Forestry: the case study of the Basilicata region (Italy)

The optimization of bioenergy chains and the creation of a bio-energy district may contribute positively to territorial development, land use planning and employment, while reducing environmental pollution. Energy planning issues are complex problems with multiple decision makers and multiple criteria. Given the spatial nature of the problem, the present paper proposes a spatial-multicriteria analysis approach (S-MCA) for supporting decision makers in the site selection process for Short Rotation Forestry planting in the Basilicata Region (Italy). The methodology applied in the decision-support system is the Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA), extended by means of fuzzy linguistic quantifiers. The purpose of the research is to characterize a systematic procedure to analyze complex decision problems, while supplying decision-makers with a flexible tool to decide on possible agro-energy policies. The outcomes of the analysis may support decision-makers to define targeted agro-energy policies and the private sector to identify the most appropriate cropping plan.