Economic and Environmental Impact Assessment using WAMADSS

The upsurge of interest in watershed management and planning has increased the need for user friendly, interactive methods that decision makers can use to evaluate the economic and environmental consequences of alternative land use/management practices (LUMPs). Knowledge and information from several disciplines are integrated into a functional computer-based watershed management decision support system (WAMADSS). WAMADSS consists of three components: (1) a GIS, (2) an economic model, and (3) an environmental simulation model. A graphical user interface enables decision makers to generate scenarios, change LUMPs, run the models, and view results within a GIS.