GEOSPATIAL TECHNIQUES FOR HERITAGE SITE MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF TOURISM POTENTIAL IN UTTARAKHAND

摘要

India is culturally rich country known for its cultural heritage through its nationally important archeological heritage sites and monuments. Monitoring of the heritage sites/monuments is essential as they face increasing risk due to unplanned urbanization, tourism, natural and man-made disasters, etc. In this study, geospatial techniques have been used for monitoring six national monuments / heritage sites (for eg. Kalinga monument in Dehradun, old cemetery in Roorkee) in Uttarakhand which are located in diverse geographic and economic conditions with different religious backgrounds. Multi-temporal high resolution satellite images viz., Landsat ETM+ (2000-2001), Cartosat-1 & LISS IV (2009-10) and other ancillary data have been used to monitor the development/expansion around the heritage sites within a specific buffer area encompassing its management zones viz., prohibited and regulated boundary. Landuse / Landcover (LU/LC) change analysis indicated changes in vegetation and built-up area categories, especially in the sites located within a city/town viz., Dehradun and Kashipur as compared to others located in remote areas, providing an important input for authorities for effective management. Evaluation of the tourism potential of these sites has been carried out to suggest planning strategies for overall area improvement including economic development. The tourism potential of the sites have been evaluated based on physical, social, and environmental parameters using weighted ranking method, a popular multi-criteria decision making tool. Based on the total tourist potential scores, the sites have been classified into four categories very high, high, medium and low potential and the planning strategies for improvement has been worked out. The methodology adopted in the study for monitoring can be extended to other nationally important monuments in Uttarakhand region for efficient management and conservation. The weighted ranking approach can be used to prepare a tourism developmental plan for improving the tourist inflows for other important heritage sites and monuments.