The planning of rural land depends, to a large extent, on the agreed-upon agrarian and forestry development model. Within the framework of agrarian multifunctionality, to evaluate different development alternatives and their effect on territorial planning, its multiple dimensions must be considered as well as the interests and needs of the stakeholders. This work thus addresses the comprehensive evaluation of development alternatives for the rural area of a municipality of the Basque Country (Spain) through the implementation of a multi-criteria evaluation method with social participation. The results show, firstly, the existence of trade-offs between the functions to be promoted in the various development models evaluated. Secondly, the results indicate the need to reverse recent trends in the sector and the convenience of moving towards an agro-livestock model of greater ecological and local character, independently of the followed forest model. In fact, the evaluation carried out also reveals, thirdly, the existence of more or less latent conflicts, in particular with regards to forest policy.

This paper addresses the debate regarding weak versus strong sustainability in the field of rural land use planning. Both concepts correspond to opposing paradigms on sustainability and both their fundamentals of economic roots and comparative analyses from a theoretical point of view enjoy a contrasting trajectory. However, their inclusion in land use planning has been an issue not sufficiently studied despite their relevance in the field of local development and sustainability. The aim of this study is to shed light on this gap by exploring the assessment of the degree of sustainability in rural land use planning. To this end, two case studies involving forestry in the Basque Country (Spain) have been analyzed based on a multi-criteria analysis technique. As a result, we have observed the importance of setting thresholds in the valuations of the criteria, as well as the effect of varying such thresholds above the compensability degree.

Decisions on environmental issues are complex and multidimensional as they represent multiple interests and values. Nevertheless, the ability of participatory multi-criteria methodologies to deal with this kind of problem is widely acknowledged. Traditionally, multi-criteria methods have focused more on technical issues than on the representation of participants’ preferences. In participatory processes there are questions such as who establishes the mechanisms of participation, in what terms these processes are developed and who is going to participate, which are determining factors that have not been sufficiently studied in multi-criteria analysis. This paper, in order to shed light on this gap, aims to compare the creation of social preferences under two different participatory approaches. For this purpose, two different participatory approaches are compared. On the one hand, applying the social multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) method, a deliberative process is developed following the principles of deliberative democracy. On the other hand, an aggregation process of individual preferences has been developed based on information collected through surveys. Both approaches have advantages as well as constraints. Our main finding is that the information obtained through the different participatory methods is different and complementary. Therefore, we can state that both participatory methods can be enriching assessment processes.

Hazkunde ekonomikoa sarritan oparotasunaren berme moduan ulertu izan da. Zentzu horretan, erakunde publikoetatik hartzen diren erabakien arrakasta-maila horiek eragindako hazkunde ekonomikoaren arabera neurtzeko joera orokortua dago. Alegia, hazkunde ekonomikoa honela ulertu da: ekonomia baten ondasun eta zerbitzuen ekoizpena eta, beraz, ekonomia horren errenta denbora jakin batean hazten den erritmo bezala, eta barne-produktu gordinaren hazkunde-tasaren bidez neurtu. Ondorioz, ekonomialariek hazkunde ekonomikoaren azterketari arreta berezia eskaini izan diote, alegia, hazkunde ekonomikoa eragiten duten faktoreen identifikazio-lanak asko eta askotarikoak izan dira denboraren joanean. Azken urte hauetan, baina, desazkundearen mugimenduak ekonomiek hazkunde ekonomikoa azken helburu moduan izatearen ideia bera kritikatu du. Artikulu honek, beraz, Adam Smith ekonomialari klasikotik abiatuta, hainbat pentsalarik hazkunde ekonomikoari buruz azaldu dituzten ekarpen esanguratsuenen bilduma labur bat aurkeztea du helburu.

This study proposes a participatory approach combining Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to reduce the environmental footprint (EF) of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), using the University of the Basque Country (EHU) as a case study. Six low-EF scenarios were co-designed with stakeholders, including actions such as extending the life of computer equipment, improving waste collection, promoting public transport, shifting to renewable heating, and increasing online academic activity. Environmental impacts were quantified using Organisational LCA (O-LCA), while SOCRATES (SOcial multi-CRiteria AssessmenT of European policieS) was used to evaluate low-EF scenarios and their implementation barriers. Scenarios reducing mobility and boosting public transport showed the highest environmental benefits while facing significant implementation barriers; scenario A7 Blended Learning reduces environmental impacts by approximately 15–30%, and A4 Transport does so by 6–25%, depending on the impact category. The results underscore the pivotal role of mobility in EF reduction and the need to align actions with institutional capacities. The study offers a replicable six-step framework integrating the participatory process, environmental impact modelling, analysis of implementation barriers, and overall decision assessment to advance sustainability in HEIs.