Page 88 - A bird’s-eye view of recreation - Rogier Pouwels

A bird's-eye view of recreation
In the project we used the Multi-Agent Simulation Of Outdoor Recreation (MASOOR) recreation tool (Jochem et al. 2008) and the Landscape ecological Analysis and Rules for the Configuration of Habitats (LARCH) biodiversity tool (Opdam et al. 2003, Verboom and Pouwels 2004). The MASOOR model is an agent-based model that focuses on the simulation of the behavioral aspects of recreational movement in natural areas. The main task for the agents is to navigate through a network of paths by making choices at each junction and to achieve one or more recreational goals such as visiting a certain point of attraction, or walking for 2 hours. MASOOR predicts the densities of visitors on each path section and the number of encounters between different types of visitors. The LARCH model is used to determine the viability of landscapes for species. It uses different parameters for each species. Habitat is selected from vegetation maps. Suitability for local populations is determined using species-specific area requirements. The recreation tool and biodiversity tool were not fully integrated into a single interactive tool. The results generated by the recreation tool had to be translated into a recreation impact using a GIS. The map showing the recreation impact was inserted into the biodiversity tool during an interactive session. Combining the tools in this way made it possible for managers to discuss with stakeholders the impact of changes in the recreation pattern, e.g. of parking lots or on the habitat quality of wader species. This allowed them to decide which of the management alternatives would positively impact wader habitats (see Colas et al. 2008 for more information). Users said that the tools could be made more user-friendly by integrating both tools into one management tool.
5.3.2The tool facilitates communication and helps clarify the underlying conflict
To serve as boundary objects (Star and Griesemer 1989), scientific tools should help clarify underlying conflicts and create understanding of the issues at stake. One of the benefits of simulation tools such as MASOOR is that users can actually see visitors moving across a dense path network (Appendix 8). The animation interface projected the results on aerial photographs and gave managers and stakeholders the impression that they could play with it like a computer game. Stakeholders familiar with the area will recognize the output and can get used to the tools (Kleijnen 1995), which makes it easier for them to participate in the process.
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