Ecotourism site suitability evaluation using geospatial technologies: a case of Andiracha district, Ethiopia
- PDF / 1,129,917 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 46 Downloads / 255 Views
Ecotourism site suitability evaluation using geospatial technologies: a case of Andiracha district, Ethiopia Andualem Befekadu Ambecha1,2 • Girma Alemu Melka2 Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda3
•
Received: 27 September 2019 / Revised: 3 January 2020 / Accepted: 7 January 2020 Korean Spatial Information Society 2020
Abstract This study is aimed to identify potential ecotourism sites using Geographic Information System and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis in Adiracha district of Sheka Zone, south-western Ethiopia. Landsat ETM Image and STRM data of 2016 with 30 m resolution and topographic map of Ethiopia were used in this study. Ecotourism potential site selection criteria were designed based on 26 stakeholder’s opinions. The final suitability map of ecotourism has been realized by applying an integrated weighted overlay technique of Geographic Information System. The suitability map was categorized into four classes as Suitable, Moderately Suitable, Less Suitable, and Not Suitable. The study attempts to indicate the level of ecotourism suitability at different location in the study area. The outcome of this research is useful to understand the spatial information of Sheka district that can be used for policy makers. This study can be also used as a basis for assessing ecotourism site suitability in other regions.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-020-00316-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Dessalegn Obsi Gemeda [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Sheka Zone Agricultural and Natural Resources Office, Sheka, Ethiopia
2
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, College of Social Science and Humanity, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
3
Department of Natural Resources Management, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Keywords Ecotourism Land suitability Multi-criteria Decision Analysis Tourism
1 Introduction Ecotourism is a type of tourism based on natural resources and cultural attractions. It can be defined as the combination of conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. Ecotourism is increasingly introduced in third world countries in the form of green revolution [1]. The presences of forest, wetland, grassland, a river fall, wildlife or other natural features enhance the development of ecotourism. Numerous studies confirmed the importance of ecotourism for biodiversity conservation [2–8]. These studies highly emphasised on the contribution of ecotourism development towards biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. Conservation can be promoted through ecotourism by increasing participants’ knowledge of ecology, fostering positive environmental studies, and driving in conservation behaviour [3, 9]. Ecotourism enhances the conservation of biological, hydrological and cultural diversity [10]. Study conducted by [11] in Malaysia integrates culture, nature and adventure in ecotourism. The sustainability of ecotourism dep
Data Loading...
