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Integer linear programming outperforms simulated annealing for solving conservation planning problems

R. Schuster,J. O. Hanson,Matthew Strimas‐Mackey,J. Bennett

Published 2019 in bioRxiv

ABSTRACT

The resources available for conserving biodiversity are limited, and so protected areas need to be established in places that will achieve objectives for minimal cost. Two of the main algorithms for solving systematic conservation planning problems are Simulated Annealing (SA) and Integer linear programming (ILP). Using a case study in British Columbia, Canada, we compare the cost-effectiveness and processing times of SA versus ILP using both commercial and open-source algorithms. Plans for expanding protected area systems based on ILP algorithms were 12 to 30% cheaper than plans using SA. The best ILP solver we examined was on average 1071 times faster than the SA algorithm tested. The performance advantages of ILP solvers were also observed when we aimed for spatially compact solutions by including a boundary penalty. One practical advantage of using ILP over SA is that the analysis does not require calibration, saving even more time. Given the performance of ILP solvers, they can be used to generate conservation plans in real-time during stakeholder meetings and can facilitate rapid sensitivity analysis, and contribute to a more transparent, inclusive, and defensible decision-making process.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2019

  • Venue

    bioRxiv

  • Publication date

    2019-11-20

  • Fields of study

    Biology, Computer Science, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.1101/847632
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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