Embracing Uncertainty in Participatory GIS: Perceptions of tree planting in the English Lake District

One of the most significant challenges in Participatory GIS (PGIS) is ensuring that results are incorporated into decision-making processes. A key issue is the lack of a means to quantify the findings of PGIS surveys, which typically contain interdependent, contradictory and conflicting information with varying degrees of participant confidence; resulting in high levels of uncertainty that are not adequately represented in conventional methods. This research describes a novel extension to Dempster-Shafer theory that permits PGIS datasets to be quantified in a manner that adequately incorporates these uncertainties, enabling their meaningful adoption into analysis and decision- making.