Zoning Land Suitability for Ecotourism Ecosystem Services Case study: Ghoochan, Khorasan-e-Razavi province

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Physical Geography, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University

3 Environmental Sciences Research Institute. Shahid Beheshti University

Abstract

Various services which are provided by nature for humans are called ecosystem services. Planning and managing for optimal productivity of the land ecosystem services is done with help of knowing the land suitability. One of the types of ecosystem services is called ecosystem cultural services and ecotourism is included in this category. The purpose of this research is zoning land suitability for the ecotourism ecosystem service in Ghoochan city. The research method is based on multi-criteria decision making. After identifying the effective environmental criteria in zoning (height, slope, aspect, geology, soil, distance from the river, land use, distance from the road and distance from the settlement), the desired layers are entered into the ArcMap software, then the AHP method was applied to evaluate relative importance among all the criteria and the normalization of the layers was done with Fuzzy logic. Finally, by overlapping and combining all the layers, excellent, medium and weak areas for the ecotourism activities in the city were determined. The findings show that 31% of the studied area is in the high class and 47% in the medium class in terms of ecological capacity to provide eco-tourism ecosystem service, which indicates the significant capacity of the region for ecotourism planning. It has made possible the sustainable productivity on areas with the high potential to promote the economy of the local people while preserving the environment.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

  1.  

Ahmadi, M., Darabkhani, M., & Ghanavati, E (2014). A GIS-based Multi-criteria Decision-       making Approach to Identify  Site Attraction for Ecotourism Development in Ilam Province, Iran. Tourism Planning & Development, 12, 1-14.

 https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2014.913676

Akbaroghli, F., Vafaei, M (2018). The Role of Tourism Potential Areas of Mashhad Metropolitan Sphere of Influence in Sustainable Urban Development, Case Study: Abardeh Village. Biannual Journal of Urban Ecology Researches, 10(20), 77-96. (in Persian).  

https://civilica.com/doc/1599306/ .

Aliani, H.; BabaieKafaky, S.; Saffari, A.; Monavari, S.M. Land evaluation for ecotourism development-An integrated approach based on FUZZY, WLC, and ANP methods. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 14.

 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-017-1291-5

Anabestani, E., Boozarjomehri, Kh., Sahebkar, N (2012). Social and economic consequences of the development of second home tourism in rural areas (case study: Shirin Dareh village of Qochan city). Journal of Research and Rural Planning, 1(1), 97-123. (in Persian).  

https://sid.ir/paper/405781/fa.

Aref Zadeh, M., Nezad Abbasi, H., Khorshidi, M., Mahmood Zade, E., Shamsi, M., Farrokhi, H., Mohamd Pour, T., Agha Mollaee, A., Nodehi, F., Shadloo, F (2016). Knowledge of Razavi Khorasan province. Iran textbook publishing company, 15. (in Persian).  

http://chap.sch.ir/books/4874.

Baaghideh, M., Boisani, R., Zamani, S (2012). Assessment of climate relaxing condition Dorbadam Ghouchan protected area to develop ecotourism using biological indicators Terjung ,PET- PMV ,Biker. Tourism and sustainable development, Hamedan, 4. (in Persian).

 https://civilica.com/doc/156331/

Bali, A., Monavari, S., RIAZI, B., Khorasani, N., & Kheirkhah Zarkesh, M (2015). A spatial decision support system for ecotourism development in caspian hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion. Boletim de Ciências Geodésicas, 21, 340-353.

10.1590/S1982-21702015000200001

Blamey, R. K (2001). Principles of ecotourism. The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism, 2001, 5–22.

https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851993683.0005

Bunruamkaew, K., & Murayam, Y (2011). Site suitability evaluation for ecotourism using GIS & AHP: A case study of Surat Thani province, Thailand. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 21, 269-278.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.07.024

Costanza, R., de Groot, R., Sutton, P., van der Ploeg, S., Anderson, S. J., Kubiszewski, I., Farber, S., & Turner, R. K (2014). Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Global Environmental Change, 26, 152–158.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.04.002

Daniel, T. C., Muhar, A., Arnberger, A., Aznar, O., Boyd, J. W., Chan, K. M. A., Costanza, R., Elmqvist, T., Flint, C. G., Gobster, P. H (2012). Contributions of cultural services to the ecosystem services agenda. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(23), 8812-8819.

 Dashti, S., Monavari, S. M., Hosseini, S. M., Riazi, B., & Momeni, M (2013). Application of GIS, AHP, Fuzzy and WLC in island ecotourism development (Case study of Qeshm Island, Iran). Life Science Journal, 10(1), 1274-1282.

Development documents of the cities of Khorasan Razavi of the country's planning and budget organization (2019), the development document of Ghoochan city,  253. (in Persian).

https://khrazavi.mporg.ir/Portal/View/Page.aspx?PageId=0994074a-a274-4b9d-b38b-4085d660b360&t=30.

Ebrahimi, M., Nejadsoleymani, H., & Mansouri Daneshvar, M. R (2019). Land suitability map and ecological carrying capacity for the recognition of touristic zones in the Kalat region, Iran: a multi-criteria analysis based on AHP and GIS. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 3(3), 697-718.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-019-00123-w

Economic, social and cultural report of Qochan city, plan and budget organization, Khorasan Razavi management and planning organization. (1400). (in Persian).

 https://khrazavi.mporg.ir/Portal/View/Page.aspx?PageId=ce8b1c40-1d32-4b6f-95a1-e25123866190&t=2.

Englund, O., Berndes, G., & Cederberg, C (2017). How to analyses ecosystem services in landscapes—A systematic review. Ecological Indicators, 73, 492-504.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.10.009

Falah, Gh., Alijani, B., Rezaee, H., Soltani, M (2013). The effect of comfort climate index for the development of tourism industry in Qochan. The second national conference of tourism and nature tourism of Iran Zameen, Hamedan, 7. (in Persian).

 https://civilica.com/doc/276605/.

Faraj Zadeh Asl, M., Karim Panah, R (2008). Analysis of suitable areas for ecotourism development in Kurdistan province using geographic information system. Natural geography research, 40(65), 33-50. (in Persian).

https://sid.ir/paper/444756/fa.

Gigović, L., Pamučar, D., Lukić, D., & Marković, S (2016). GIS-Fuzzy DEMATEL MCDA model for the evaluation of the sites for ecotourism development: A case study of “Dunavski ključ” region, Serbia. Land Use Policy, 58, 348-365.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.07.030

Ghorbanzadeh, O., Pourmoradian, S., Blaschke, T., & Feizizadeh, B (2019). Mapping potential nature-based tourism areas by applying GIS-decision making systems in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Journal of Ecotourism, 18(3), 261-283.

DOI:10.1080/14724049.2019.1597876

Hasan, S. S., Zhen, L., Miah, M. G., Ahamed, T., & Samie, A (2020). Impact of land use change on ecosystem services: A review. Environmental Development, 34, 100527.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2020.100527

Hossieni, E., Azimi, M., Barani, H., Sharifian Bahreman, A (2021). Measuring the capacity of ecotourism as one of the services of pasture ecosystems. The 3 International Congress Agricultural and Environmental Development with Emphasis on the United Nations Development Program, Tehran, 2. (in Persian).  

https://civilica.com/doc/1022250/.

Information on travel services of Ghoochan city (n d), General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of Razavi Khorasan,  9-10. (in Persian).  

Karimi, H., Kardovani, P., Mahdavai, M (2018). Good rural governance a solution for the management of agricultural water resources case study: the villages of Qochan city. Geography (Scientific Quarterly of the Iranian Geographical Society), 9(1), 7-15.  (in Persian).

https://www.jgeoqeshm.ir/article_83604.html.

Kiper, T (2013). Role of ecotourism in sustainable development. InTec.

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.108264

Mahdavi, A., & Niknejad, M (2014). Site suitability evaluation for ecotourism using MCDM methods and GIS: Case study-Lorestan province, Iran. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences, 4(6), 425–437.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.07.024

Makhdoom, M (2009). Fundamental of ianduse planning. Tehran University Publications, 35. (in Persian).

Moatar, Gh., Shali Amini, V., Tiz Ghalam Zenozi, S (2019). Agricultural tourism (agrotourism) in Iran and the world. The 2 nd National Conference on Documentation of Natural and Cultural Heritage.(in Persian).

https://sid.ir/paper/864734/fa

Mohamadi, A., Moharrer, M., Baba khani fard, M (2016). Creative tourism: a new tool for the development of the tourism industry in Iran. International conference of management elites. (in Persian).

 https://sid.ir/paper/864734/fa.

Parron, L. M., Fidalgo, E. C. C., Luz, A. P., Campanha, M. M., Turetta, A. P. D., Pedreira, B. C. C. G., Prado, R. B (2019). Research on ecosystem services in Brazil: a systematic review. Ambiente e Agua - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science, 14(3), 1.

https://doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.2263

Rahnama, M., Aghajani, H (2013). Analysis of spatial inequalities in Razavi Khorasan province. (Teacher of Humanities), 16(1 (consecutive 73)), 63-88. (in Persian).

 https://sid.ir/paper/171996/fa.

Roque Guerrero, J. V., Teixeira Gomes, A. A., de Lollo, J. A., & Moschini, L. E (2020). Mapping Potential Zones for Ecotourism Ecosystem Services as a Tool to Promote Landscape Resilience and Development in a Brazilian Municipality. Sustainability, 12(24), 10345.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410345

Roostaee, Sh., & Farmani-e-mansoor, S (1391). Investigating the geotourism potentials of karst forms in Nahavand region, the first national conference on tourism and nature tourism of Iran Zamin, Hamadan.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.07.024

Sahani, N (2019). Assessment of ecotourism potentiality in GHNPCA, Himachal Pradesh, India, using remote sensing, GIS and MCDA techniques. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 3(2), 623-646.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-019-00116-9

Sayyed, M. R. G., Mansoori, M. S., Jaybhaye, R. G (2013). SWOT analysis of Tandooreh National Park (NE Iran) for sustainable ecotourism. Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 3(4), 296-305.

Shalbafian Hosseinabadi, A., Taherian, P (2022). Identification of Drivers and Barriers to the Development of Experience-Oriented Tourism in Eco-Resorts of Semnan Province. Journal of Urban Tourism, 9(33), 15-29. (in Persian).  

Shirooz Aliabadi, Z (2021). Prioritizing space economic activities in line with sustainable rural developmentCase study: villages of Qochan city. Village and Sustainable Space Development Quarterly, 1(4), 35-46. (in Persian).

10.22077/vssd.2021.4217.1026.

Tabatabaiy, B., Noori, Gh., Ranjbar, H (2019). Locating tourism sample points with fuzzy logic in order to develop tourism. Case study: northwest and west of Kerman province Geographical Planning of Space Quarterly Journal, 10(37), 123-142. (in Persian).  

10.30488/gps.2020.154995.2932.

The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Khorasan Razavi(n d), Simai Shahristan, Ghochan Introduction. (in Persian).

https://quchan.razavichto.ir/quchan.aspx .

The World Tourism Organization, Ecotourism and Protected Areas, 2002.

https://www.unwto.org/sustainable-development/ecotourism-and-protected-areas

Weaver, D. B (2001). Ecotourism in the context of  other tourism types . Queensland.

https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851993683.0073

Zarkesh, M.M., Almasi, N., & Taghizadeh, F (2011). Ecotourism land capability evaluation using spatial multi criteria evaluation. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, 3, 693-700

https://maxwellsci.com/print/rjaset/v3-693-700.pdf

 

 

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 03 July 2023
  • Revise Date: 17 January 2024
  • Accept Date: 20 January 2024

Share

How to cite

Statistics