Abstract
Fuzzy cognitive maps are used as an automated decision aid to better assess how change in one component of a system affects the other components of the same system. To illustrate the advantage of this method, a conceptual model of an eco-industrial park is presented and the fuzzy cognitive mapping approach is used to analyze the impacts of this model. The model of the eco-industrial park is a collection of industries and companies that agree to co-exist for the purpose of maintaining a sustainable economic posture in the use of natural resources and in the minimization of wastes. Industries such as a steam co-generation plant, an asphalt refinery, a salt cavern, a fish farm, and various feedlots are contained in this conceptual model. The impact assessment presented involves a total of 18 various kinds of interdependencies between and among these various industries. Impacts such as pollution, waste disposal, employment, transportation, available land, school facilities, population growth, and other economic issues are all considered in the assessment of the impacts the eco-industrial park will have on the local community and the economy of a region that straddles northeastern Alberta and northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. The fuzzy cognitive mapping approach is used to analyze the intricacies of these relationships and how they are likely to affect each other.