Zoning and Mapping Recreational Activities in Coastal Marine Protected ‎‎‎Areas‎ (Case Study: ‎Mangrove Forests of ‎Hara PA‎)‎

Selecting appropriate activities and their distribution in natural areas is one of the most ‎‎‎important issues in tourism management and planning in natural ecosystems. Accordingly, in ‎the ‎present study, while identifying suitable areas for recreational activities development that ‎are ‎demanded and can be developed in the mangrove forests of Hara Protected Area (PA), ‎these ‎activities were prioritized according to the capabilities of the natural areas and the ‎effective ‎criteria for their development. The criteria were selected based on previous ‎documents and ‎studies, as well as experts' viewpoints. These criteria were standardized in the ‎numerical range ‎of 0 to 1 in a linear path and then weighted using the ANP model. Then, for ‎each criterion, a ‎spatial map was prepared in Arc GIS software, and the Topsis method was ‎used in Topsis ‎Solver software to prioritize recreational activities. As the results revealed, the ‎zoning of ‎recreational activities in this area includes 4 options of ‎how to combine the ‎recreational ‎activities demanded in the mangrove forests of Hara PA. ‎Based on the ranking of ‎activities, the ‎highest priority is related to option 2, and the next ‎priorities include options 3, ‎‎1, and 4, ‎respectively. In general, measuring the proportionality of ‎recreational activities in ‎tourism ‎destinations, especially in PAs that have legal prohibitions ‎and potential biological ‎and ‎protective restrictions for human activities development, is essential and can lead to ‎proper ‎planning and ‎management. Considering that the ‎mangrove forests of Hara PA are ‎among the ‎valuable protected reserves of the southern ‎coasts of the country, prioritizing ‎recreational ‎activities in suitable areas and outside the ‎protection zones of the region can help ‎to sustainably ‎use the capacity of natural resources ‎and the appropriate distribution of ‎recreational activities in ‎the area while protecting these ‎natural habitats. ‎