Gis And Remote Sensing Based Ecotourism Suitability Analysis The Case Of Wondo Genet Woreda Sidama Ethiopia

The main objective of the study is to identify the potential ecotourism sites in Wondo Genet,rnSidama, Ethiopia by using GIS, RS and AHP. Currently, despite the blessing of many ecotourismrnresources in Wondo Genet Woreda only Shebelle resort is frequented and stagnated by massrntourism activities. In addition, human induced factors are grappling the ecotourism resources inrnWondo Genet. Therefore, this thesis is aimed to assess ecotourism resources and its capabilityrnbased on six factors such as: land use land cover, species diversity, slope, elevation, rainfall andrntemperature. These factors were selected according to the local ecotourism guides view,rnprofessional expert’s from WGCF-NR, tourists’ opinions and field survey. Firstly, a resourcerninventory and a list of ecotourism criteria were developed using the AHP to determine thernrelative importance of all selected factors. Then GIS tools were used to measure the ranking ofrnclasses, to identify the highly potential areas based on the set criteria. Finally, the ecotourismrnpotential suitability map was made-up, using the linear combination of factors with theirrnrespective weights. The degree of suitability of each parameter was classified as highly potential,rnmoderately potential, less potential and not suitable for ecotourism. Subsequently, the resultrnshowed highly suitable for ecotourism potential area accounts for 10.86% (2438.86 ha),rnmoderately suitable accounts 14.23% (3194.68 ha), less potential areas 68.89 % (15467.45 ha)rnand 6.02 % (1351.50 ha) no potential area in Wondo Genet province and its vicinity. Generally,rnas part of ecotourism niche package Wondo Genet has a potential for wildlife tourism,rngastronomy tourism, agrotourism, spa and health tourism, cultural and educational tourism.rnMore specifically, Wondo Genet area can provide ecotourism activities like: ballooning, bungee/rnbungy jumping, mountain trekking, mountain biking, rafting, camping, photographing and videographing, picnicking, birding, fishing, swimming, and cultural tripping and many other venturerrnactivities. The study also revealed some threats that encountered ecotourism development inrnWondo Genet like: deforestation, human wildlife conflict and infrastructure and servicernlimitation are some of the hindering factors in the study area. In general, the study wasrnattempted to identify the major ecotourism potentials and its suitability and identify somernhindering factors encountered in Wondo Genet province and vicinity for sustainable ecotourismrndevelopment

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