@2024 Afarand., IRAN
ISSN: 2538-4384 Geographical Researches 2020;35(3):205-213
ISSN: 2538-4384 Geographical Researches 2020;35(3):205-213
Carrying Capacity of Nature-Tourism in Ashooradeh Island in Miankaleh Biosphere Reserve, Iran
ARTICLE INFO
Article Type
Original ResearchAuthors
Behzadnia M. (1)Dorbeiki M. (*2)
(*2) Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Qaem-shahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qaemshahr, Iran
(1) Department of Environment, Baharan Higher Education Institute, Gorgan, Iran
Correspondence
Address: Qaemshahr Branch of Islamic Azad University, Kilometer 7 of Nezami Road, Qaemshahr, Iran. Postal Code: 4765161964.Phone: +98 (17) 32323897
Fax: -
mdorbeiki@gmail.com
Article History
Received: June 21, 2020Accepted: July 24, 2021
ePublished: October 1, 2021
ABSTRACT
Aims & Backgrounds
Considering ecological sensitivity of Biosphere Reserves (BR) and their educational and aesthetic values and popularity for nature-tourism, the assessment of carrying capacity (CC) is important issue in tourism management and control of visitors flow in such areas. The aim of the present study was to assess the CC of nature-tourism in Ashooradeh Island (east of Miankeleh BR) in the north of Iran.
Methodology Using official maps of the region and extensive field surveys, 346 ha were selected out of 456 ha of the total tourism zones in Ashooradeh as useful and usable areas for visitors. IUCN formulas were used to calculate Physical (PCC), Real (RCC), and Effective (ECC) carrying capacity which determined by ecological, social and managerial characteristics of the region. In addition, 12 limiting factors were applied for better and effective calculations (including climate conditions, tourism infrastructure, ecological characteristics, and social issues).
Findings For 346 ha of extensive and intensive tourism zones of Ashooradeh, the PCC, RCC, and ECC were 536000, 42529, and 6778 visitors per day, respectively. It is obvious that ECC was less than the others (about 16% of RCC) and presents the real number of visitors.
Conclusion Ashooradeh Island has suitable potential for nature-tourism, but considering its current management conditions, it is suggested that less nature tourists visit the region.
Methodology Using official maps of the region and extensive field surveys, 346 ha were selected out of 456 ha of the total tourism zones in Ashooradeh as useful and usable areas for visitors. IUCN formulas were used to calculate Physical (PCC), Real (RCC), and Effective (ECC) carrying capacity which determined by ecological, social and managerial characteristics of the region. In addition, 12 limiting factors were applied for better and effective calculations (including climate conditions, tourism infrastructure, ecological characteristics, and social issues).
Findings For 346 ha of extensive and intensive tourism zones of Ashooradeh, the PCC, RCC, and ECC were 536000, 42529, and 6778 visitors per day, respectively. It is obvious that ECC was less than the others (about 16% of RCC) and presents the real number of visitors.
Conclusion Ashooradeh Island has suitable potential for nature-tourism, but considering its current management conditions, it is suggested that less nature tourists visit the region.
CITATION LINKS
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[16]- Lobo HAS, Trajano E, Marinho MDA, Bichuette ME, Scaleante JAB, Scaleante OAF, et al. (2013). Projection of tourism scenarios onto fragility maps: Framework for determination of provisional tourist carrying capacity in a Brazilian show cave. Tourism Management. 35:234-243.
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[18]- Martire S, Castellani V, Sala S (2015). Carrying capacity assessment of forest resources: Enhancing environmental Sustainability in energy production at local scale. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 94:11-20.
[19]- Masoodi M, Salman Mahini A, Mohammadzadeh M, Mirkarimi, SM (2016). Application of multi-criteria evaluation and GIS to ecotourism planning in protected areas (Case study: MianKaleh wildlife refuge). Journal of Natural Environment. 69(1):211-229. [Persian]
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[22]- Moradi A, Daneshpour A, Daneshvar M, Bahmanpour H (2019). Determine the carrying capacity of the tourism and recreational range of natural areas of Mashhad metropolis along the urban and sustainable urban planning. Geographical Researches. 34(3):445-454. [Persian]
[23]- Movahedi S, Amani H, Banikamali S (2013). Identification and calculation of tolerance capacity areas prone to ecotourism development in Sabalan zone. Geography and Environmental Planning. 24(1):141-154. [Persian]
[24]- Nahrli D, Rezaei S (2002). Assessment and introduction of recreational carrying capacity. Journal of Environmental Studies. 28(29):101-112. [Persian]
[25]- Newsome D, Dowling R, Leung YF (2012). The nature and management of geotourism: A case study of two established iconic geotourism destinations. Tourism Management Perspectives. 2-3:19-27.
[26]- Ohadi S, Dorbeiki M (2011). Environmental impacts of tourism activities on ecosystems and biodiversity of coastal areas: A case study of the Caspian Sea coasts. In: Proceeding of National Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Indigenous Knowledge; Mar 01; International Center for Advanced Science and Technology and Environmental Sciences, Kerman, Iran. [Persian]
[27]- Parvaresh H, Parvaresh E, Parvaresh Z (2013). Estimating the physical, real and permissible carrying capacity of recreational boating for Mangrove Forests of Hara-e Rode Gaz International Wetland. Journal of Oceanography. 4(13):85-92. [Persian]
[28]- Rezaei P, Ghahramani N (2015). Evaluating carrying capacity in land-use planning of tourism complexes. Tourism Management Studies. 10(31):85-102. [Persian]
[29]- Sadeghi Chahardeh S, Eskandarinezhad I, Dehdar Dargahi M (2015). Estimation of nature tourism carrying capacity in mountains of Iran; the case of Sibchal, Khas Khani and Aghoozi. Geographical Journal of Tourism Space. 4(14):83-96. [Persian]
[30]- Saveriades A (2000). Establishing the social tourism carrying capacity for the tourist resorts of the east coast of the Republic of Cyprus. Tourism Management. 21(2):147-156.
[31]- Sayan MS, Atik M (2011). Recreation Carrying Capacity Estimates for Protected Areas: A Study of Termessos National Park. Ekoloji. 20(78):66-74.
[32]- Shayesteh K, Makhdom M, Yavari AR, Sharifi M, Jafari HR (2011). Recreational optimized management plan, a tool to apply carrying capacity concept in sustainable management of recreational areas. Environmental Researches. 2(3):65-76. [Persian]
[33]- Sheikh A, Jafari A, Yarali N, Sotoodeh A (2014). Estimating recreational carrying capacity of gheisary protected area in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology. 2(5):51-64. [Persian]
[34]- Spenceley A, Snyman S (2017). Protected area tourism: progress, innovation and sustainability. Tourism and Hospitality Research. 17(1):3-7.
[35]- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2020). The list of wetlands of international importance. RCW.
[36]- Tirafkan M, Mirkarimi SH, Aghili SM (2013). Tourism carrying capacity assessment of camping in Miankaleh wildlife refuge. In; Proceeding of the First Conference of Environmental Planning and Conservation; Feb 21 Islamic Azad University of Hamadan Branch, Hamadan, Iran. [Persian]
[37]- UNESCO (2020). Biosphere reserves [Internet]. Paris: UNESCO [cited 2020 June 10]. Available from: https://en.unesco.org/biosphere
[38]- Watson JEM, Dudley N, Segan DB, Hockings M (2014). The performance and potential of protected areas. Nature. 515:67-73.
[2]- Brown K, Turner RK, Hameed H, Bateman I (1997). Environmental carrying capacity and tourism development in the Maldives and Nepal. Environmental Conservation. 24(4):316-325.
[3]- Bruner AG, Gullison RE, Rice RE, Da Fonseca GAB (2001). Effectiveness of parks in protecting tropical biodiversity. Science. 291(5501):125-128.
[4]- Ceballos-Lascurian H. (1996). Tourism, ecotourism and protected areas: the state of nature-based tourism around the world and guidelines for its development. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
[5]Chenciner R, Magomedkhanov M (1992). Persian exports to Russia from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Iran. 30:123-130.
[6]- Dorbeiki M, Bahmanpour H, Mafi A (2013). Nature tourism management in Mountainous areas. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 2(4):55-68. [Persian]
[7]- Duarte P, Meneses R, Hawkins AJS, Zhu M, Fang J, Grant J (2003). Mathematical modeling to assess the carrying capacity for multi species culture within coastal waters. Ecological Modeling. 168(1-2):109-143.
[8]- Elahi Choren MA, Ramezanzadeh Lasbouei M, Einali J (2019). Estimation of physical, real and effective carrying capacity of tourism (the case of Nowshahr parks). New Perspectives in Human Geography. 11(4):582-599. [Persian]
[9]- Farhoodi R, Shoorcheh M (2004). Calculating tourism carrying capacity of Anahita Temple in Kangavar. Tourism Management Studies. 2(7):19-43. [Persian]
[10]- Heydari T, Meshkini A, Nemati T (2013). Quantitative estimation of tourism carrying capacity of Zanjanroud riverine. Geography and Environmental Planning. 24(3):75-92. [Persian]
[11]- Hoseinzadeh SR, Erfanian A (2015). Determining the carrying capacity of coastal tourism of Kish Island. Geography and Territorial Spatial Arrangement. 5(16):181-200. [Persian]
[12]- Jafari HR, Karimi S, Madah F (2007). Locating buffer zone by analyzing the pollution characteristics by GIS and RS in Miankaleh Wetland. Journal of Environmental Studies. 33(44):55-64. [Persian]
[13]- Jahani A, Shirani Sarmazeh N, Goshtasb Meygooni H, Etemad V (2018). The estimated carrying capacity of tourism in protected areas (case study: Qhamishloo National Park and Wildlife Refuge). Environmental Researches. 9(17):55-66. [Persian]
[14]- Jomepour M, Namayandeh A (2012). Assessing ecotourism potential and capacity of desert district of Maranjab, Kashan. Journal of Research and Rural Planning. 1(1):45-71. [Persian]
[15]- Leung YF, Spenceley A, Hvenegaard G, Buckley R, Groves C (2018). Tourism and visitor management in protected areas: guidelines for sustainability. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
[16]- Lobo HAS, Trajano E, Marinho MDA, Bichuette ME, Scaleante JAB, Scaleante OAF, et al. (2013). Projection of tourism scenarios onto fragility maps: Framework for determination of provisional tourist carrying capacity in a Brazilian show cave. Tourism Management. 35:234-243.
[17]- Mahdi A, Karimi D, Farshchi P, Panahi M (2020). Presentation of a model of site assessment and ecotourism planning in protected areas with an ecological carrying capacity approach. Geographical Researches. 35(1):43-54. [Persian]
[18]- Martire S, Castellani V, Sala S (2015). Carrying capacity assessment of forest resources: Enhancing environmental Sustainability in energy production at local scale. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 94:11-20.
[19]- Masoodi M, Salman Mahini A, Mohammadzadeh M, Mirkarimi, SM (2016). Application of multi-criteria evaluation and GIS to ecotourism planning in protected areas (Case study: MianKaleh wildlife refuge). Journal of Natural Environment. 69(1):211-229. [Persian]
[20]- Moharamnejad N, Dorbeiki M (2007). Ecotourism Management in Jahannama Protected Area. Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 9(3):71-82. [Persian]
[21]- Moharramnejad N, Rahnamai M, Dorbeiki M (2017). Application of A'WOT method in strategic management of sustainable tourism in a national park. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal. 16(2):471-480.
[22]- Moradi A, Daneshpour A, Daneshvar M, Bahmanpour H (2019). Determine the carrying capacity of the tourism and recreational range of natural areas of Mashhad metropolis along the urban and sustainable urban planning. Geographical Researches. 34(3):445-454. [Persian]
[23]- Movahedi S, Amani H, Banikamali S (2013). Identification and calculation of tolerance capacity areas prone to ecotourism development in Sabalan zone. Geography and Environmental Planning. 24(1):141-154. [Persian]
[24]- Nahrli D, Rezaei S (2002). Assessment and introduction of recreational carrying capacity. Journal of Environmental Studies. 28(29):101-112. [Persian]
[25]- Newsome D, Dowling R, Leung YF (2012). The nature and management of geotourism: A case study of two established iconic geotourism destinations. Tourism Management Perspectives. 2-3:19-27.
[26]- Ohadi S, Dorbeiki M (2011). Environmental impacts of tourism activities on ecosystems and biodiversity of coastal areas: A case study of the Caspian Sea coasts. In: Proceeding of National Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Indigenous Knowledge; Mar 01; International Center for Advanced Science and Technology and Environmental Sciences, Kerman, Iran. [Persian]
[27]- Parvaresh H, Parvaresh E, Parvaresh Z (2013). Estimating the physical, real and permissible carrying capacity of recreational boating for Mangrove Forests of Hara-e Rode Gaz International Wetland. Journal of Oceanography. 4(13):85-92. [Persian]
[28]- Rezaei P, Ghahramani N (2015). Evaluating carrying capacity in land-use planning of tourism complexes. Tourism Management Studies. 10(31):85-102. [Persian]
[29]- Sadeghi Chahardeh S, Eskandarinezhad I, Dehdar Dargahi M (2015). Estimation of nature tourism carrying capacity in mountains of Iran; the case of Sibchal, Khas Khani and Aghoozi. Geographical Journal of Tourism Space. 4(14):83-96. [Persian]
[30]- Saveriades A (2000). Establishing the social tourism carrying capacity for the tourist resorts of the east coast of the Republic of Cyprus. Tourism Management. 21(2):147-156.
[31]- Sayan MS, Atik M (2011). Recreation Carrying Capacity Estimates for Protected Areas: A Study of Termessos National Park. Ekoloji. 20(78):66-74.
[32]- Shayesteh K, Makhdom M, Yavari AR, Sharifi M, Jafari HR (2011). Recreational optimized management plan, a tool to apply carrying capacity concept in sustainable management of recreational areas. Environmental Researches. 2(3):65-76. [Persian]
[33]- Sheikh A, Jafari A, Yarali N, Sotoodeh A (2014). Estimating recreational carrying capacity of gheisary protected area in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology. 2(5):51-64. [Persian]
[34]- Spenceley A, Snyman S (2017). Protected area tourism: progress, innovation and sustainability. Tourism and Hospitality Research. 17(1):3-7.
[35]- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2020). The list of wetlands of international importance. RCW.
[36]- Tirafkan M, Mirkarimi SH, Aghili SM (2013). Tourism carrying capacity assessment of camping in Miankaleh wildlife refuge. In; Proceeding of the First Conference of Environmental Planning and Conservation; Feb 21 Islamic Azad University of Hamadan Branch, Hamadan, Iran. [Persian]
[37]- UNESCO (2020). Biosphere reserves [Internet]. Paris: UNESCO [cited 2020 June 10]. Available from: https://en.unesco.org/biosphere
[38]- Watson JEM, Dudley N, Segan DB, Hockings M (2014). The performance and potential of protected areas. Nature. 515:67-73.