Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis within a methodology for evaluating environmental restoration technologies Original Research Article

This paper illustrates an application of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis techniques within a methodology for evaluating environmental restoration technologies. The methodology consists of two main parts: the first part (“analysis”) integrates a wide range of decision criteria and impact evaluation techniques in a framework that emphasizes and incorporates input from stakeholders in all aspects of the process. Its products are the rankings of the alternative options for each stakeholder using, essentially, expected utility theory. The second part (“deliberation”) utilizes the analytical results of the “analysis” and attempts to develop consensus among the stakeholders in a session in which the stakeholders discuss and evaluate the analytical results. This paper deals with the analytical part of the approach and the uncertainty and sensitivity analyses that were carried out in preparation for the deliberative process. The objective of these investigations was that of testing the robustness of the assessments and of pointing out possible existing sources of disagreements among the participating stakeholders, thus providing insights for the successive deliberative process. Standard techniques, such as differential analysis, Monte Carlo sampling and a two-dimensional policy region analysis proved sufficient for the task.