مكان يابي اكوتوريسم در مناطق ساحلي شرق استان گيلان با استفاده از GIS

Environmental Land Evaluation for Coastal Ecotourism Site Selection in Eastern Guilan Province, Using GIS

Improper land utilization and overexploitation of resources along the coastal areas of Caspian Sea have degraded the quality and quantity of these areas for ecotourism. An environmental land evaluation was used for ecotourism site selection in the coastal areas of four towns in the Guilan province, north of Iran. The method follows that developed by Ian McHarg and adapted and advanced by M. Makhdoum for use in Iran. The method is conducted in three steps: preparation of simplified maps of the environmental resources, map overlay, and ecological assessment of the units on the combined map, the latter being done using models developed by M. Makhdoum. The study was done using maps at the scale 1:100,000. Using GIS for implementation of the three steps of the method, it was found that a total land area of 0.07 percent of Rudsar, 0.26 percent of Langeroud, and 0.11 percent of Lahidjan are ecologically suitable for intensive ecotourism. No map unit was found suitable for intensive ecotourism in the Astaneh Ashrafleh township area. I also found that a total land area of 3.7 percent of Rudsar, 18.3 percent of Langeroud, 28.7 percent of Lahidjan and 31.7 percent of Astaneh Ashrafieh are ecologically suitable for extensive ecotourism. The areas ecologically suitable were prioritized using information on socio-economic parameters developed as maps and tables. Based on a combination of ecological and socio-economic potentials, it was showed that in terms of suitability for intensive ecotourism, Lahidjan comes first followed by Langeroud, Rudsar and Astaneh Ashrafieh. For extensive ecotourism, Lahidjan was first followed by Astaneh Ashrafieh, Langeroud and Rudsar.