E-praxis: A web-based forest law decision support system for land characterization in Greece

This paper presents “e-praxis”, a Web-based Decision Support System (DSS), to assist the land Characterization Acts (CA) issuing process, performed by the Greek Forest Service (GFS). The issue under investigation is the characterization of specific or wider land areas as sylvan (forest ecosystem in general) or not, based on the applicable legislation and the fundamental principles of Forest Ecology. The proposed DSS is a web application that bases its operation and functionality on a model built for the decoding of the relevant Forest Legislation and utilizes the “Rule-Based Reasoning” technique for the design and implementation of the decision model. Programming languages such as PHP, HTML and JavaScript were employed for the development of the application. The main goal of the DSS is the simplification -and to the possible extent - automation of the process together with the reduction of the required examination time. “E-praxis” also aims to document the decision process based on objective criteria so as to combat bureaucracy and potential corruption. The use of the application by the GFS can save time that can be committed to other significant tasks and strengthen the objectivity in decision making. The proposed DSS could also be exploited as a consultation tool for freelance foresters-scholars, be used as a training tool for newly appointed foresters of the GFS and as an educational tool for Forestry and Legal sciences students. •Land Characterization is a complex and time-wasting procedure for the Greek Forest Service•The codification of the relevant legislative framework is a prerequisite for exercising sustainable forest policy•E-praxis is a web-DSS that initiates a Computer based treatment for Characterization Acts issuing process•The proposed DSS is open to extension and update according to the current legislative framework