Ecological Potential Evaluation of the Kan Watershed for Ecotourism Development using AHP and Fuzzy Logic in GIS

Abstract

Ecotourism is a popular aspect of tourism that gives economic value to biodiversity and allows tourists to gain knowledge about the importance of environmental conservation. The rapid growth of the tourism industry and the prioritization of economic benefits in the areas around Tehran have disturbed the principles of sustainable development and leads to increasing pressure on the environment, Hence Ecological potential evaluation is recommended as practical solution. The current study aims to evaluate the ecological potential of the Kan watershed for ecotourism development using the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Case study is located between the city of Tehran (south), Darakeh watershed (east), Jajrud watershed (north), and Karaj river watershed (west). In the first step, the effective criteria were selected based on the literature review and expert interviews. Then, the criteria were weighted and prioritized using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Then, Fuzzy logic and Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) method in GIS were used to zonation of intensive and extensive ecotourism development. The result showed that 1.3% (273 ha) and 11.3% (2327 ha) of the Kan watershed has very suitable potential for intensive and extensive ecotourism development. Also 2.3% (475 ha) and 14.1% (2903 ha) of the region has suitable potential for intensive and extensive ecotourism development. Suitable areas for intensive ecotourism development are mostly located in the southeastern part of Sulqan rural district, Keshar-e Sofla, and Keshar-e Olya villages. Potential zones of extensive ecotourism are located throughout the watershed at river boundaries and valley floors.

Keywords

• ecological potential evaluation
• ecotourism
• ahp
• kan watershed
• gis