Expert-guided multicriteria decision-making for mitigating land subsidence caused by groundwater overexploitation|专家引导的多准则决策方法用于缓解因地下水过度开采导致的地面沉降|Prise de décision multicritère guidée par des experts pour atténuer l’affaissement des terrains causé par la surexploitation des eaux souterraines|Tomada de decisão multicritério orientada por especialistas para mitigar a subsidência de terreno causada pela superexploração de águas subterrâneas|Toma de decisiones multicriterio asistida por expertos para mitigar la subsidencia del terreno causada por la sobreexplotación de las aguas subterráneas

Land subsidence poses significant problems in regions facing water management challenges, primarily resulting from unsustainable groundwater abstraction that causes significant drops in piezometric levels. Recognizing the urgent need for effective mitigation measures against land subsidence, this study developed a multicriteria decision-making model on the basis of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to evaluate ten mitigation alternatives. Expert opinions were gathered through structured surveys in four Mediterranean areas: the coastal aquifer of Comacchio (Italy), the Alto Guadalent & iacute;n aquifer (Spain), the Sar & imath;g & ouml;l-Ala & scedil;ehir aquifer in the Gediz River Basin (T & uuml;rkiye), and the Azraq Wetland Reserve (Jordan). Quantitatively, results of the AHP analysis consistently ranked two alternatives (enhancing water use efficiency and strengthening legal control over groundwater abstraction) as the most preferred to mitigate land subsidence, with statistical tests (Friedman test and Dunn's post-hoc test) confirming the robustness of these results. The innovative contribution of this work lies in its integration of diverse expert perspectives into a comprehensive, transferable decision-making tool that goes beyond previous approaches by combining technical, economic, environmental, and social dimensions. The results provide valuable, targeted guidance for policymakers and planners, offering sustainable strategies that can be adapted to different regional contexts.