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    APPLICATION OF GIS IN ECOTOURISM

    DEVELOPMENT DECISIONS:

    Evidence from the Pearl of Africa

    By

    James Obadiah Bukenya

    RESEARCH PAPER 2012

    Research AssistantNatural Resource Economics Program, West Virginia University

    Morgantown, WV 26506-6108Tel. 304-293-4832 ext. 4476E-mail:[email protected]

    JEL: L830, Q200, Q260, 7210, 0130, Q210,

    Key words:Ecotourism, environmental management, spatial analysis, GIS

    Abstract: This study demonstrates the uses of geographical information system (GIS)and multi-criterion decision-making framework (MCDM) in solving a spatial multi-objective problem of ranking and prioritizing Ugandas national parks for ecotourismdevelopment. The ranking model adopted allows formal analysis of the effects ofalternative weighting schemes and their spatial sensitivity on national park ranking. Theresults show that (1) Ugandas national parks can be arranged and ranked into three sub-groups, and (2) the national parks in the western region of the country are ranked higher

    than those in the other regions.

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    APPLICATION OF GIS IN ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENTDECISIONS:EVIDENCE FROM THE PEARL OF AFRICA

    I. INTRODUCTION

    In recent years, researchers have begun to examine how local populations can

    direct tourism activities and benefit from them. In the 1980s, alternative forms of tourism

    began attracting the interest of governments, communities and scholars alike. These were

    given a raft of namesnature tourism, soft tourism, responsible tourism, green

    tourism, ecotourism (Schaller, 1999),but all were seen as alternatives to mass

    tourism. Among these various labels, the term "ecotourism" has become prominent,

    although a consistent definition is by no means found, even among scholars (Schaller,

    1999). Most definitions do, however, incorporate concepts associated with sustainable

    development. For example, in Sustainable development: Exploring the contradictions,

    Redclift (1987) attempted to integrate economic development with ecological

    sustainability, and his work has served as a conceptual basis for ecotourism researchers

    such as Zurick (1992). Dearden (1991) and Hunter and Green (1995) use the definition

    espoused by the World Commission on Environment and Development: "development

    that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations

    to meet their own needs" (WCED, 1987).

    Many scholars now agree that ecotourism should require a two-way link between

    tourism and environmental conservation (Valentine 1993; Cater, 1994). As the

    understanding of the close relationships between tourism and environmental conservation

    increases, researchers are calling on ecotourism industry to incorporate economic

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    development as a fundamental element of conservation (West and Brechin, 1991:392).

    These concerns highlight a critical difference between nature tourism and

    ecotourism, at least as the latter term will be defined here. Nature tourism is "based

    directly on the use of natural resources in a relatively undeveloped state, including

    scenery, topography, water features, vegetation and wildlife" (Healy, 1988: 1). It is also

    based upon the desire of people to experience nature in their leisure time. The growing

    levels of participation have led to the recognition of sub-markets. Eagles (1995a)

    proposed that nature-based tourism has at least four sub-markets (Figure 1), differentiated

    according to the travel motives of the tourists.

    Figure 1.Tourism sub-markets

    Among these subdivisions ecotourism may be the fastest growing tourism sub-

    market. The growth of ecotourism primarily involves travel by Europeans and North

    Americans to all parts of the world. For example, Eagles and Wind (1994) found that

    Canadian ecotour companies visited fifty different countries in 1992. Recently, with

    rapidly developing economies in Asia, ecotourists from these countries are entering the

    market as consumers. The number of ecodestinations expands with the increases in park

    numbers. There is now a worldwide nature travel market, with tourists from many

    countries traveling to destinations in many other countries (Zurick, 1992). Ecotourism

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    has an idealistic agenda, defined by Drumm (1991: 54) as progressive, educational

    travel, which conserves the environment and benefits local communities. Because it is

    both succinct and sufficiently ambitious, this definition will be used here.

    THE ISSUE

    The country in focus in this study, Uganda, is emerging from years of political

    instability and entrenched poverty. Before Idi Amin took power in 1971, Uganda had a

    major tourism industry, but the industry was crashed with the instability of the country.

    Today, tourism is picking up again, and Uganda, with diverse, yet endangered natural

    resources has found it preferable to pursue ecotourism for the main reason that tourism is

    one of the few products, which it can trade in the international marketplace. Uganda is

    also receiving generous funding to support these efforts from international non-

    governmental organizations such as the Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV), Germany Animal

    Protection Society, CARE International, and from financial institutions such as the World

    Bank and the United Nations-based Global Environmental Facility (Ringer, 1996).

    The World Bank and United Nations-based Global Environmental Facility (GEF)

    have paid ever-increasing attention to the development and conservation potentials of

    ecotourism. However, while their previous funded projects did have some ecotourism

    components, the GEF set a precedent in early 1995 when it funded a four million US

    dollars ecotourism project in Uganda, and wrapped up negotiations for a similar project

    in Zimbabwe (Rembert, 1997). The Uganda National Parks (UNP) and the Uganda

    Wildlife Tourism Board (WTB), the tourism governing boards in the country were

    responsible for allocating the funds (four million US dollars) to four of the ten major

    national parks in the country. Faced with simultaneous objectives, UNP and WTB were

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    Table 1. Objectives and Criteria

    Objectives Criteria

    1. *Wildlife management potential 1. Park preservation potential rating fromadvancement land use/land cover

    2. Existing park preservation potential

    2. *Ecological Value 3. Park size

    4. Number of species available

    5. Presence of endangered species

    6. Park type value for wildlife habitat

    3. ** Susceptibility to encroachmentand degradation

    4. *Revenue Generation

    7.

    Soil suitability foragriculture/construction

    8. Proximity to major roads/towns

    9. Number of visitors in a year

    10.Entrance Fee

    *Maximize the objective **Minimize the objective

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    II. BACKGROUND

    Uganda's tourism industry reflects the extraordinary diversity of the country: a

    region of lakes, swamps, dense grasslands, and woodlands, rolling plains, forests and

    mountainous areas. Owing to a variety of habitats with abundant grass and landscape,

    Uganda supports an incredibly high species biodiversity with a high level of endemism.

    In order to protect and effectively manage these invaluable resources on a sustainable

    basis, the Uganda National Parks Authority was established in 1952. The organization

    presently manages ten national parks: Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Kidepo Valley,

    Lake Mburo, Rwenzori Mountain, Bwindi Impenetrable, Mgahinga Gorilla, Mt. Elgon,

    Semuliki, and Kibale national parks. Each of these parks is unique and offers a different

    experience for tourists.

    ?

    #

    *

    +

    ^

    x

    ~

    $

    =

    %

    Murchison FallsNat. Park

    Kidepo FallsNat. Park

    Mt. ElgonNat. Park

    Mgahinga Nat. Park

    Bwindi Nat. Park

    Lake Mburo Nat. ParkQueen ElizabethNat. Park

    Rwenzori Nat. Park

    Kibale Nat. Park

    Semuliki Nat. Park

    ProvinceEAST. PROVKARAMOYONILE

    NORTH. PROVSOUTH BUGANDASOUTH. PROVWEST. PROV

    100 0 100 200 Miles

    N

    EW

    S

    Map of Uganda

    Figure 2.Uganda National Parks.

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    As shown in Figure 2, six of the ten Uganda's national parks are located in the

    southwestern region of the country in the districts of Kabale, Fort Portal and Kasese.

    These districts are characterized by fertile soils, making the agricultural industry vital and

    productive in the region. Agriculture has traditionally been the basis of Uganda's

    economy (Byrnes, 1992; Ringer, 1996). Since independence in 1962, agriculture has

    contributed 60% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 99% of its exports.

    Agriculture is estimated to support more than 90% of the population, mostly in producing

    food for subsistence or internal trade. Uganda is one of the few African nations that are

    self-sufficient in food, despite the almost complete collapse of its economic infrastructure

    due to civil war (Byrnes, 1992). The country has a rich and varied agricultural area,

    which covers 42% of the total land area of 24,341,100 hectares (60,146,858 acres).

    However, only about 21% of the land area is currently under cultivation, mostly in the

    three southern regions. Over three-quarters of the countrys total land area receives the

    rainfall necessary for intensive cultivation (Uganda, 1990).

    III. ECOTOURISM INDUSTRY IN EAST AFRICA

    For many of the world's poorest countries, tourism is seen as a means of obtaining

    foreign exchange and of developing infrastructure. A country promoting low-impact,

    ecological tourism may be able to better avoid the adverse environmental effects from

    traditional tourism and the sale of natural resources (Teye, 1987). The link between

    environmental protection, international tourism and economic development became

    widely recognized in eastern Africa in the early 1970s (Thresher, 1972). Kenya and

    Tanzania have well-documented examples of ecotourism industries in eastern Africa.

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    Starting with only a few thousand tourists in the early 1950s, Tanzanias tourism

    increased to 350,000 in 1995 (Friesen, 1995), and Kenyas to 865,300 in 1994 (Anon,

    1996). In both countries, the tourism industry is closely tied to world-class systems of

    national parks and game reserves. For instance, in Kenya the foreign exchange earnings

    from tourism rival sometimes exceed those of agriculture, the other important source of

    revenue (Western, 1997). Thus, throughout eastern and southern Africa, park-based

    tourism is a very important economic activity.

    Kenya has been a successful leader in the development of ecotourism industries

    based upon a comprehensive structure of national legislation, policy planning and site

    management (Pigram, 1990). Furthermore, since the sustainability of the ecotourism

    industry is dependent upon the preservation of environmental quality and biodiversity,

    policy makers feel that encotourism can bolster conservation efforts (Division for

    Sustainable Development, 1998). Thus, while the potential for negative exploitation of

    this emerging industry exists, it is nevertheless seen by many as the lesser of many much

    more harmful options available to the world's struggling regions such as Africa (Eagle,

    1997).

    However, not all tourism development efforts in eastern Africa have been

    successful. Ankomah and Crompton (1990) identified five factors inhibiting these

    development efforts as negative market image, lack of foreign exchange for capital

    development, lack of trained personnel for tourism, weak institutional frameworks for

    planning and management and political instability. Sournia (1996) contrasts the

    management of park tourism in western Africa to that of eastern Africa. He points out

    that even with significant natural resources in western Africa, the tourism levels are well

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    below those of eastern Africa. Sournia suggests that the reasons for the lower levels of

    use include less visible wildlife concentrations, weak national transportation networks,

    inefficient hotel facilities, poorly trained tourism staff, weak marketing and a lack of

    tourism infrastructure in the parks (Sournia, 1996).

    IV. ROLE OF TOURISM IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

    The impact of tourism in the economy is felt mainly through forward and

    backward linkages expressed as demand for goods and services in the agricultural,

    textiles, beverage, transportation, and entertainment sectors. Hence, the tourist dollar has

    such multiplier effects that its absence would affect the general government revenue

    collection.

    4.1 Employment in the Tourism Sector

    Since tourism is essentially a service industry, it provides relatively more jobs

    than any other economic sector. The industry is labor-intensive and, consequently, its

    expansion generates more job opportunities than an equivalent expansion in other sectors

    of the economy (Teye, 1987). In addition, allied improvements in tourism infrastructure

    also catalyze other economic activities. It was estimated that well over 219,000 people

    are currently deriving their livelihood from tourism in Uganda (Ringer, 1996).

    4.2 Tourism Earnings

    Income from tourism contributes to exports and the Gross Domestic Product

    (GDP). Foreign exchange earnings have been increasing steadily over the past ten years

    representing an appreciable growth rate. While tourism is sensitive to the level of

    economic activity in the country, it provides higher and stable earnings than those from

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    primary products (Ringer, 1996). Tourism earnings tend to increase at a higher rate than

    earnings from other export commodities. The earnings incurred are, in turn, used to

    offset shortfalls on the visible trading account, and therefore are of critical importance in

    the financial reckoning. Tourism contributes greatly to government revenue through

    license fees, customs and exercise duty, value added taxes (VAT) on tourism services,

    landing fees, passenger service charge, and entry fees to game parks, as well as income

    tax levied on employees in the tourism industry. The generated revenues play a pivotal

    role in the overall development of a countrys economy (Moore and Carter, 1993).

    4.3. Tourism and Development of Infrastructure

    The benefits accruing from investments in infrastructure such as hotels and

    restaurants, road network and superstructure such as airports, communications, power

    and water supply as well as other related public utilities, are widely shared with other

    sectors of the economy. Their development enhances the overall development at the

    local level and also encourages greater economic diversification. It has been argued by

    Schaller (1999) that tourism has larger multiplier effects than any other sectors, since

    every unit of tourist expenditure goes through several rounds of income creation and

    expenditure before its effect is exhausted. For instance, money spent by a tourist on hotel

    accommodation, food and beverages, shopping, entertainment and transportation, does

    not stagnate, but provides income to hotel staff, taxi operators, shopkeepers and suppliers

    of goods and services. Part of this income is spent on these individuals daily

    requirements of goods and services. As a result, money accruing from tourism circulates

    through numerous segments of the economy through the multiplier process.

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    4.4. Tourism and Regional Development

    The tourism industry has been described as a major promoter of international

    goodwill and understanding (Moore and Carter, 1993), as well a prime means of

    developing social and cultural understanding on the local level. Accordingly, foreign

    visitors are considered to be the best ambassadors of their respective countries. In view

    of the fact that we are living in a global village, the industry contributes significantly to

    international commerce and good relation among nations. It is worth noting also that the

    development of tourism may serve as an important vehicle for promoting economic

    advancement of less developed areas that are not endowed with alternative resources. In

    this regard, such developments play an important part in redressing regional development

    and income distribution imbalances (Sanchez, 1998).

    4.5 Tourism and Cultural Resources

    Tourism has always been considered a vital medium for widening the scope of

    human interests (Eagles, 1997). It contributes positively to the nurturing and exploration

    of cultural heritage of nations. It therefore serves indirectly to improve the individual

    cultural understanding of both residents and foreigners, while at the same time

    contributing to the gross national product. At the local level, domestic tourism creates an

    understanding and appreciation of the attractions thereby, contributing to sustainable

    tourism development (Eagles, 1997).

    It should be noted also that ecotourists uses local resources and expertise, which

    in turn translates into import savings. The use of local resources and expertise also

    translates into environmentally sensitive patterns of resource use and local participation

    in the tourism industry (Pigram, 1980). Its emphasis on local resources and employment

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    makes it attractive to developing countries, which, although rich in natural resources are

    disadvantaged by rural poverty and the lack of export earnings (Eagles, 1997).

    V. METHODOLOGY

    This section discusses the data compilation, and presents a brief description of the

    multiple criteria decision-making framework (MCDM). In presenting the framework, an

    outline of the model as used in this study is provided.

    5.1 Data Compilation

    The spatial data used in this study include topography, land uses, hydrology,

    population distribution, elevation, satellite images, meteorological data, transportation

    layers, and ecological species distribution. The non-spatial data includes demographic

    and socio-economic data. The spatial data is obtained from United States Geology

    Survey (USGSUganda Metadata), African Data Dissemination Services, and Geo

    CommunityGeographical Information System Data Deport. Additional spatial data

    such as transportation layers are obtained from the World Digital Chart. The non-spatial

    data, which includes demographic and socio-economic data, are obtained from the

    national parks specific websites (www.newafrica.com/nationalparks), and from the

    World Bank.

    5.2 Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)

    In most everyday decisions, there exist multiple, conflicting, and sometimes

    simultaneous, objectives. MCDM framework helps decision-makers choose among

    alternatives by showing the tradeoffs between the criteria, which enables them to make

    choices in a rational, consistent, and documentable manner (Zeleny, 1992). Romero and

    http://www.newafrica.com/nationalparks/http://www.newafrica.com/nationalparks/http://www.newafrica.com/nationalparks/
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    Rehman (1989) argued that decision-makers are usually not interested in ranking feasible

    alternatives according to a single criterion but strive to find an optimal compromise

    among several objectives. In a multiple-criterion problem, human value judgments,

    tradeoff valuations, and assessments of the importance of criteria are an integral part of

    the evaluation process. The MCDM framework was developed to fill weaknesses

    identified in the conventional mathematical programming applications to decision-

    making problems (Strager et al., 1997). The multi-criterion problem formulation and

    analysis procedure includes the following steps:

    1) Defining the desired goals, objectives or purpose of the project. A clear

    statement of the recognized problem completes the first step in the decision process

    (Gershon and Ducksten, 1983). In this study, the goal is to prioritize and to rank

    Uganda's national parks for funding opportunities. The criteria needed to identify the

    most suitable national parks include identifying the parks which have, the highest number

    of species, wildlife management potential, endangered species, potential to attract more

    tourists, and parks that have less susceptibility to encroachment and degradation over the

    next decade. With such criterion, the decision-makers could focus their funding priorities

    and help ensure that valuable national parks are funded without delay or confusion.

    2) Selecting evaluation criteria that can relate technology capabilities for

    achieving the desired project goals or objectives (Tecle et al., 1990). A total of ten

    evaluation criteria are selected in this study (Table 1). The criteria attempt to build a

    loose connection between resource value parameters, such as national park sizes and

    composite wildlife value and vulnerability parameters, such as proximity to roads and

    developed land uses. Spatial analysis techniques within a Geographic Information

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    System (GIS) provide the needed integration framework. Once the criteria are selected,

    they are traditionally rated among each other using weights, which reflect the decision-

    makers preference structure (Tecle et al., 1988).

    3) Identifying the alternatives that are candidates for ranking. This study

    includes ten national parks as the feasible alternatives to be ranked. Each of these

    national parks has certain features or physical characteristics that make it more suitable

    for funding than corresponding features found in the other national parks. The ten

    national parks included to rank in this project are shown in Figure 2.

    4) Selecting performance indices or measurement scales to describe the

    alternatives in terms of the given criteria, to reach the desired objectives. In developing

    the indices and scales, GIS is used. For each data layer, existing map and data units are

    collected from various sources to produce parameter layers in the GIS. If digital spatial

    information is not available, maps are acquired, digitized, mosaicked, and registered to

    produce the desired data layer. From the GIS database compilation, data could be

    assigned to the evaluation criteria. Table 4, shows the conversion of non-numerical

    criterion measures into numerical form for evaluation criteria where applicable.

    5) Constructing an evaluation matrix of the alternatives vs. the criteria array.

    The matrix (Table 5) represents particular values of each national park in terms of the

    evaluation criteria. For ease in evaluating the matrix, the elements of the evaluation

    matrix are usually expressed in a ratio scale corresponding to a value function on the

    interval zero to one (Strager, 1997). Such a transformation is shown as a payoff matrix in

    Table 6. This transformation helps to eliminate the influence of widely differing

    numerical sizes of the criterion values upon the outcome, while enabling the description

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    of non-common measurable criteria in a standardized dimensionless scale (Tecle and

    Yitayew, 1990).

    6)Performing the selection process using one of the MCDM techniques. In this

    study, the MCDM model used to rank the national parks in Uganda is compromise

    programming. The concept of non-dominance is used in compromise programming to

    select the best compromise solution or choice of alternatives. A solution is non-

    dominated if there is no other feasible solution that will cause an improvement in the

    value of the objective function without making the value of any other objective function

    worse.

    1.3 MODEL SPECIFICATION

    An ideal solution for the compromise programming algorithm as defined by Tecle

    and Yitayew (1990), is the vector of objective functions values,

    )...,,,( **3*

    2*

    1*

    IffffF = ,

    where, the decision makers maximumvaluesfor a criterion i, *if , are the solutions to

    equation 1:

    J...,2,1,jandI,...2,1,i),(* === iji fMaxf (1)

    and the decision makers minimumor worst valuefor criterion I, **if , are determined

    using equation 2:

    J...,2,1,jandI,...2,1,i),(** === iji fMinf (2)

    where,

    ijf = the performance index for the values of implementing alternative jA to meet

    the desired objectives expressed with respect to the ithcriterion.

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    j = the number of alternatives

    i = the number of criteria.

    Using equations (1) and (2) the decision makers maximum (best) and minimum (worst)

    criteria from the payoff matrix is identified.

    In a compromise programming procedure, the ideal point serves as a reference

    point for evaluating the comparative performances of the alternatives in achieving the

    desired objectives (Zeleny, 1982). The alternative that gives a solution Aclosest to the

    ideal point is the most preferred. The closeness of a solution to the ideal point *if is

    determined using a standardized family of Lp metric values (Tecle and Yitayew, 1990).

    According to Romero and Rehman (1989), this type of metric can be very helpful, if used

    as a measure for human preferences. The Lp metric as a compromise solution with

    respect topis expressed as:

    =

    pN

    i

    p

    ii

    ijiIjff

    ffWAMin

    1

    1***

    *

    p)

    )()()(L (3)

    where, Lp ( jA ) = the distance metric, a function of the decision alternative jA and the

    parameterp.

    IW = the standardized form of the criterion weight, iw , in which the decision

    makers relative preference structure among the icriterion is represented

    using,i

    ii

    w

    wW

    = , so that 1= iW for all I;

    *if = the ideal or best value for criterion I (Equation 1);

    **if = the minimum or worst value for criterion I (Equation 2), and

    the parameterpcan take on values 1

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    To solve the multi-criterion problem using the compromise-programming algorithm,

    the vector of ideal point values, *if and worst values**

    if , are determined using equation

    (1), (2) and (3) to compute the Lp distances value from the ideal points. The preferred

    alternative has the minimum Lp distance value for eachpand weight set that maybe used

    and is the best compromise solution. Obviously, the best compromise solution changes

    according to the values of the parameter p and of the weights chosen. The parameterp

    acts as a weight attached to the deviations according to their magnitudes. Similarly, iw

    becomes the weight for the various deviations signifying the relative importance of each

    criterion (Romero and Rehman, 1989). In this project, equation (3) is implemented into

    the GIS with a parameterpvalue of 1 while using the payoff matrix data and the criteria

    weights imputed from the graphical user interface.

    VI. RESULTS

    The results of the application of the ranking model, based on iteration by the set

    of criteria weights are shown in Figure 3 and Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 presents the

    maximum and minimum values estimated using equations 1 and 2, while Figure 3 and

    Table 3 present the results of equation 3. The four selected national parks are Murchison

    Falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Rwenzori national park, and Lake

    Mburo national park. Following the specific objectives and criteria adopted in this study,

    the results show that: (1) Among other ranking techniques, Ugandas national parks can

    be arranged into three general sub-groups and ranked accordingly in terms of their

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    specific groups1; and, (2) the national parks in the western region of the country rank

    higher than those in the other regions of the country. A possible explanation for the later

    finding is that, despite the fertile soils in this region, the topography of western Uganda

    (as shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6), characterized by the East African Rift Valley, opens the

    region to massive soil loss and land degradation via erosion, which makes traditional

    agricultural practices unsuitable. The regions undesirability for agriculture combined

    with its sceneries, beautiful weather and a perfect environment for wildlife make the

    region more attractive for the ecotourism industry.

    CONCLUSION

    The study has demonstrated the use of geographical information system and

    multi-criteria decision making framework in solving a spatial multi-objective problem of

    ranking and prioritizing Ugandas national parks; based on the stated objectives and

    criteria for the development of ecotourism industry. The ranking model allowed formal

    analysis of the effects of alternative weighting schemes and their spatial sensitivity on

    national park ranking. While the problem addressed in this study appears to have been

    simple, it demonstrates the applicability of MCDM to similar but more complicated

    problems. The advantage of the proposed methodology is that sensitivity analysis can

    easily be performed on the results by employing graphical user interface, which allows

    the decision-maker to query individual national parks for critical information.

    1The ranking technique (sub-grouping other than individual ranking or any other technique) used in this study is a matter of

    preference. Given the general objective of identifying four out of the ten national parks, this ranking technique was preferred.

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    http://get.to/bukenyahttp://get.to/bukenyahttp://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/adds/adds.htmlhttp://geology.usgs.gov/tools/metadata/tools/http://www.gisdatadepot.com/catalog/UG/indexhttp://www.gisdatadepot.com/catalog/UG/indexhttp://www.gisdatadepot.com/catalog/UG/indexhttp://geology.usgs.gov/tools/metadata/tools/http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/adds/adds.htmlhttp://get.to/bukenya
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    Table 2. Vector of maximum and minimum criterion values

    Criterion

    Maximum

    f*

    Minimum

    f**

    1. Park type value for wildlife habitat 1.0 0.0

    2. Existing park preservation potential 1.0 0.0

    3. Park preservation potential rating fromadvancement land use/agriculture 1.0 0.0

    4. Soil suitability foragriculture/construction

    0.0 -1.0

    5. Proximity to major roads/towns 0.0 -1.0

    6. Existence of endangered species 1.0 0.0

    7. Park Size 1.0 0.23

    8. Number of recorded species 1.0 0.5

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    1

    3 2

    11

    1

    2

    3

    3

    2

    ?

    #

    *

    +

    ^

    x

    ~

    $

    =

    %

    100 0 100 200 Miles

    N

    EW

    S

    Uganda National Parks

    Figure 3. Results from the Compromising Programming Model

    Table 3.Results from the Ranking Model: Uganda National Parks.

    Name Rank

    (+) Murchison Falls Nat. Park 1

    (x) Queen Elizabeth Nat. Park 1

    (*) Rwenzori National Park 1

    (#) Lake Mburo National Park 1

    (~) Kibale National Park 2

    (^) Kidepo National Park 2

    (?) Bwindi National Park 2(=) Semuliki National Park 3

    ($) Mgahinga Gorilla Nat. Park 3

    (%) Mt. Elgon National Park 3

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    Table 4.Conversion of non-numerical criterion measures into numerical form

    Criterion Numerical value assigned

    1. Park type value for wildlife habitatMgahinga Gorilla (0.6)Rwenzori Mountains (0.6)Semuliki (0.2)Lake Mburo (0.6)Kidepo Valley (0.8)Bwindi Impenetrable (1.0)Queen Elizabeth (1.0)Kibale (0.4)Murchison Falls (0.6)

    Mount Elgon (0.2)

    2. Park size Not applicable

    3. Existing park preservation potential If the species on potential park had a highrestoration potential (1.0) if moderately then(0.5)

    4. Park preservation potential ratingfrom advancement land

    use/agriculture

    If the perimeter of the park has over 75% ofits area as no restoration conflict (1.0) if over

    75% (0.5)

    5. Soil suitability foragriculture/construction

    Soil suitable or only slightly limited forbuildings, locations, homes, streets, andfarming (1.0)

    6. Proximity to major roads/towns Parks 100m from major roads (1.0)

    7. Existence of endangered species If more than 25% of the species areendangered (1.0)

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    Table 5.Evaluation Matrix of Criteria vs. Individual National Parks

    CriterionMgahinga

    Gorilla RwenzoriLake

    MburoQueen

    ElizabethMarchison

    Falls Simuliki Kibale

    1. Park type value forwildlife habitat

    0.6 0.6 06 1.0 0.6 0.2 0.4

    2. Existing park

    preservation potential

    1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 1.0

    3. Park preservation

    potential rating fromadvancement land

    use/agriculture

    0.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5

    4. Soil suitability for

    agriculture/construction

    1.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0

    5. Proximity to major

    roads/towns

    0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

    6. Existence ofendangered species

    0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0

    7. Park Size 34sq km 996 sq

    km

    260 sq

    km

    1978 sq

    km

    3860 sq

    km

    219 sq

    km

    776 sq

    km

    8. Number of recordedspecies

    76 70 72 95 76 53 60

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    Table 6.Payoff Matrix of Criteria vs. Individual National Parks

    CriterionMgahinga

    Gorilla RwenzoriLake

    MburoQueen

    ElizabethMarchison

    Falls Simuliki Kibale

    1. Park type value forwildlife habitat

    0.6 0.6 06 1.0 0.6 0.2 0.4 0

    2. Existing park

    preservation potential

    1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 1.0 0

    3. Park preservation

    potential rating fromadvancement

    landuse/agriculture

    -0.5 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -0.5 -

    4. Soil suitability for

    agriculture/construction

    -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 0.0 0.0 -1.0 -1.0 0

    5. Proximity to major

    roads/towns

    0.0 -1.0 0.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 -1.0 0

    6. Existence ofendangered species

    0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0

    7. Park Size 0.01 0.23 0.07 0.5 1.0 0.06 0.23 0

    8. Number of recorded

    species

    76 70 72 95 76 53 60 2

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    Figure 4.Topography: Western Uganda.

    Figure 5.Elevation: Western Uganda

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    Figure 6.Slope: Western Uganda