A GIS-MCDA-Based Suitability Analysis for Meeting Targets 6.3 and 6.5 of the Sustainable Development Goals

Angeliki Mentzafou, Momčilo Blagojević and Elias Dimitriou
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Angeliki Mentzafou: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, 166 04 Anavissos, Greece
Momčilo Blagojević: Directorate for Water Management, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Rimski Trg 46, 810 00 Podgorica, Montenegro
Elias Dimitriou: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, 166 04 Anavissos, Greece

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-23

Abstract: Among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in the 2030 Agenda, goals 6.3, regarding clean water and improve of water quality, and 6.5, regarding integrated water resources management, highlight the need for the implementation of successful environmental water quality monitoring programs of transboundary river waterbodies. In the present study, the designation of high priority areas for water quality monitoring of Drin transboundary watershed is performed using a suitability model, a GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) approach that takes into consideration the most important conditioning factors that impose pressures on rivers. Based on the results, the methodological approach used manages to sufficiently delimit the areas with increased need for water quality monitoring in the Drin watershed, and the validation procedure produces a correlation coefficient of 0.454 (statistically significant at a 0.01 level). Limitations arise in the case of a lack of detailed information or inaccurate input data and due to the inconsistency among the input data and the different methodological approaches regarding the information collection of each country involved. These restrictions foreground the need for cooperation between the countries involved regarding the exchange of scientific knowledge and common legislation, so as to achieve integrated, effective, and sustainable management of water resources of the area.

Keywords: sustainable development goals (SDGs); river waterbodies; transboundary river basins; water quality; suitability model; GIS-based multicriteria decision analysis; Drin river basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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