Environmental Capability Evaluation for Determination of Suitable Areas of Ecotourism Development in Chahrmahal VA Bakhtiari Province

Environmental capability evaluation is one of the ways for exploitation and sustainable use of natural resources, which regulate the relationship between human and environment. In this study, ecotourism potentials of Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiari province were evaluated by ecotourism ecological model for Iran. Initially, every given parameters in the model including topography (slop, aspect and elevation), pedology (prolific, texture, drainage), plant cover (density, growing model, and the condition of the grasslands), geology, protected areas and climate (temperature, moisture, number of sunny days, and average speed of wind) were investigated separately and maps were provided for each one of them. Mentioned layers were classified by considering the goal and suggested data from ecotourism model. Then, maps of appropriate zones for intensive and extensive ecotourism were provided by analyzing data with Geographic Information System (GIS). Results showed that 12300 and 808000 acres of the province were prone to intensive and extensive ecotourism, respectively. Findings of the present study provided the necessary information for comprehensive planning of ecotourism development in Chaharmahal VA Bakhtiari province.