Game Theory, a Useful Approach for Resolving Land Use Planning Conflicts

One reason for extreme natural resources loss is anthropogenic overexploitation. To alleviate poverty and land degradation, humans should keep up with nature and use natural resources in a reasonable manner. To satisfy this end, land use planning techniques can be adopted. To meet the land use planning goals, such as relative social welfare, sustainable development and environmental protection, the relationship between stakeholders, should be clarified. Stakeholders involved in the decision-making process differ in their viewpoints, which in turn cause conflicts and result in unacceptable land use planning that ultimately divert the process from its goals. Game theory is the study of interactions and cooperation between individuals and is applied when functions and contributions of several factors interact among participants. The result of this approach settles the conflicts. There has been remarkable advances in the game theory, including computer modeling which facilitates game theory application. The present study aimed at introduction of conflict resolution among stakeholders in land use planning using game theory framework. For this, we first specified the conflict areas and the stakeholders involved in the conflict. Then the game algorithm was designed by experts and implemented in a suitable software. The end result of this process can be incorporated in the land use planning.