Danial Hassan Tabar Shoraki1, Seyed Ramazan Mousavi Mousavi *1 
, Ghorban Vahabzadeh Kebria1, Sayed Hussein Roshun1
, Ghorban Vahabzadeh Kebria1, Sayed Hussein Roshun1
1- Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Sari, Iran
Abstract: (21 Views)
Extended Abstract
Background: Today, tourism is recognized as one of the most important economic activities in the world. The development of this industry brings numerous economic benefits to human societies and is considered one of the main and most important sources of income, job creation, and improvement of social and cultural infrastructure in the modern world. Hydro-tourism or water tourism is a sustainable form of tourism that focuses on water resources and their related components. The main objective of this article is to locate hydro-sites in the Babolrood watershed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and evaluate them using the Pereira and Renard methods. Considering the presence of various water resources, including the Caspian Sea (the end of the basin), dam lakes, rivers, springs, waterfalls, and ponds in the Babolrood watershed, it has a high potential for the development of water tourism. Therefore, identifying suitable locations for the construction of hydro-sites and the development of the water tourism industry in this basin seems necessary for economic development and optimal use of resources.
Methods: The Babolrood watershed is located in the counties of Babol, Babolsar, and Savadkuh in Mazandaran Province, within the geographical longitudes of 52°25'52" to 52°55'03" and latitudes of 36°00'06" to 36°43'05". To locate hydrogeomorphosites within the studied watershed, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among local people, tourists, and tourism experts. Subsequently, the most important selected key indicators in locating hydrogeomorphosites were natural indicators (elevation classes, slope magnitude and direction), hydrology and water resources (water bodies based on the NDWI water index, distance from the main waterway, distance from waterfalls, and distance from springs), climate and environmental indicators (precipitation and land use), social indicators (distance from population centers and distance from security centers), and infrastructural indicators (distance from roads, distance from welfare centers, and distance from medical centers). After preparing all effective factors in locating and defining their alternatives based on the pairwise comparison table and based on the opinions of experts, specialists, and university professors, these factors were weighted in Expert Choice 11 software. By obtaining the weight of each of the effective factors and their alternatives, a vector layer of all factors was prepared based on their obtained weight and finally converted to raster format. Finally, the final map of hydrogeomorphosites locations in the basin was obtained using the raster calculator in ArcGIS 10.8 by applying the sum of all factors. Then, the Pereira and Renard methods were used to assess the capability of the final sites. Data for the two methods were collected by designing a questionnaire in accordance with the objectives of these models.
Results: The relative importance of each criterion in the site selection process can be understood by examining the weights of the parameters. The results indicate that the NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) criterion, with a weight of 0.115, has the highest importance among the criteria, demonstrating the key role of this index in identifying areas with water potential. Distance from spring (0.115) and distance from the main waterway (0.079) are also the criteria of high importance, indicating the significance of access to water resources in locating hydrogeomorphosites. In contrast, criteria such as slope (0.037) and elevation classes (0.042) have lower weights and are less important than the other criteria. The weights of the alternatives indicate which category of each criterion is the best option for locating hydrogeomorphosites. Therefore, for the distance from the main waterway criterion, Alternative A, with a weight of 0.347, has the highest importance, likely indicating that hydrogeomorphosites near main waterways are more suitable in terms of water access and tourism potential. In the NDWI criterion, Alternative A also has the highest weight (0.343), suggesting that areas with higher NDWI values (areas with more water cover) are more suitable for the development of water tourism. The results obtained from the evaluation of the Pereira and Renard methods show that the Alborz Dam Lake, the Caspian Sea, and the Hyrcanian forests have the highest scores due to their high management quality and relative suitability compared to other phenomena. The proximity of each of these phenomena to the susceptible areas predicted by the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method indicates their high potential for the construction of hydrogeomorphosites.
Conclusion: The results indicated that criteria such as NDWI, distance from springs, and distance from the main waterway are highly important in the process of localizing hydrogeomorphosites. Areas with greater water coverage and easy access to water resources have a higher potential for developing aquatic tourism. However, it is necessary to consider all criteria and alternatives simultaneously.
Background: Today, tourism is recognized as one of the most important economic activities in the world. The development of this industry brings numerous economic benefits to human societies and is considered one of the main and most important sources of income, job creation, and improvement of social and cultural infrastructure in the modern world. Hydro-tourism or water tourism is a sustainable form of tourism that focuses on water resources and their related components. The main objective of this article is to locate hydro-sites in the Babolrood watershed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and evaluate them using the Pereira and Renard methods. Considering the presence of various water resources, including the Caspian Sea (the end of the basin), dam lakes, rivers, springs, waterfalls, and ponds in the Babolrood watershed, it has a high potential for the development of water tourism. Therefore, identifying suitable locations for the construction of hydro-sites and the development of the water tourism industry in this basin seems necessary for economic development and optimal use of resources.
Methods: The Babolrood watershed is located in the counties of Babol, Babolsar, and Savadkuh in Mazandaran Province, within the geographical longitudes of 52°25'52" to 52°55'03" and latitudes of 36°00'06" to 36°43'05". To locate hydrogeomorphosites within the studied watershed, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among local people, tourists, and tourism experts. Subsequently, the most important selected key indicators in locating hydrogeomorphosites were natural indicators (elevation classes, slope magnitude and direction), hydrology and water resources (water bodies based on the NDWI water index, distance from the main waterway, distance from waterfalls, and distance from springs), climate and environmental indicators (precipitation and land use), social indicators (distance from population centers and distance from security centers), and infrastructural indicators (distance from roads, distance from welfare centers, and distance from medical centers). After preparing all effective factors in locating and defining their alternatives based on the pairwise comparison table and based on the opinions of experts, specialists, and university professors, these factors were weighted in Expert Choice 11 software. By obtaining the weight of each of the effective factors and their alternatives, a vector layer of all factors was prepared based on their obtained weight and finally converted to raster format. Finally, the final map of hydrogeomorphosites locations in the basin was obtained using the raster calculator in ArcGIS 10.8 by applying the sum of all factors. Then, the Pereira and Renard methods were used to assess the capability of the final sites. Data for the two methods were collected by designing a questionnaire in accordance with the objectives of these models.
Results: The relative importance of each criterion in the site selection process can be understood by examining the weights of the parameters. The results indicate that the NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index) criterion, with a weight of 0.115, has the highest importance among the criteria, demonstrating the key role of this index in identifying areas with water potential. Distance from spring (0.115) and distance from the main waterway (0.079) are also the criteria of high importance, indicating the significance of access to water resources in locating hydrogeomorphosites. In contrast, criteria such as slope (0.037) and elevation classes (0.042) have lower weights and are less important than the other criteria. The weights of the alternatives indicate which category of each criterion is the best option for locating hydrogeomorphosites. Therefore, for the distance from the main waterway criterion, Alternative A, with a weight of 0.347, has the highest importance, likely indicating that hydrogeomorphosites near main waterways are more suitable in terms of water access and tourism potential. In the NDWI criterion, Alternative A also has the highest weight (0.343), suggesting that areas with higher NDWI values (areas with more water cover) are more suitable for the development of water tourism. The results obtained from the evaluation of the Pereira and Renard methods show that the Alborz Dam Lake, the Caspian Sea, and the Hyrcanian forests have the highest scores due to their high management quality and relative suitability compared to other phenomena. The proximity of each of these phenomena to the susceptible areas predicted by the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method indicates their high potential for the construction of hydrogeomorphosites.
Conclusion: The results indicated that criteria such as NDWI, distance from springs, and distance from the main waterway are highly important in the process of localizing hydrogeomorphosites. Areas with greater water coverage and easy access to water resources have a higher potential for developing aquatic tourism. However, it is necessary to consider all criteria and alternatives simultaneously.
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