Environmental Management Planning of Hengam Island for Conservation & Tourism using Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation (SMCE)

Ecotourism is known as a type of sustainable tourism which helps both conservation and development, but many of tourism sites go to instability and self-destruction because of unsuitable environment assessment. Besides it is necessary to introduce new region for increasing of protected area in Iran. Using related criteria is an appropriate method for selection of suitable protected area and ecotourism places. Regarding to this goal, 12 criteria and 41 sub criteria for ecotourism management planning and 5 criteria and 26 sub criteria for selection of protected patches in natural ecosystems of Iran, were extracted from reviewing of different documents. These criteria and sub criteria were screened for tourism management planning and selection of protected patches in island ecosystems by using Delphi Method and finally 11 criteria and 25 sub criteria for ecotourism management planning and 5 criteria and 15 sub criteria for selection of protected patches were selected in Hengam Island. Then they were weighted differently by Analytical Hierarchy Process and their priority was distinguished, then determined coefficients were demonstrated as mathematical model for selection of protected and ecotourism patches. Related indicators were described for all selected sub criteria which were suitable for studied area characteristics and could change into maps. These maps were imported to GIS and symmetrical distance maps were prepared. Finally appropriate ecotourism and protected area were identified in Hengam Island by using mathematical model and it were specified cautiously ecotourism zone, ecotourism with low physical development and ecotourism without physical development in case of ecotourism according to distinguished areas and in case of conservation it was distinguished protected area zone, environmental sensitive zone, rehabilitation and restored zone and control and monitoring zone. Results showed that 48.99 percent of studied area which is the whole island and 10 meter depth of surrounding water has protected value potentially. Also about 62.33 percent of the study area is suitable for ecotourism activities and 21.31 percent should be restored and rehabilitated and finally 70.99 percent of Island and the surrounding water are suggested for control and monitoring.