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چکیده
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Identifying ecotourism potential alone is insufficient for achieving sustainability unless ecological conditions are combined with an assessment of the social norms that influence environmental behavior. This study integrates GIS and remotely sensed data with a social-norm analysis to evaluate threats to sustainable ecotourism in the Badr and Parishan protected areas in Qorveh, Iran. Landsat OLI/TM imagery (30 m spatial resolution) and an AHP-based multi-criteria model were used to map ecotourism suitability based on eight indicators including land use, elevation, vegetation density, aspect, slope, soil taxonomy, distance from roads, and proximity to water sources. In parallel, 384 questionnaires were analyzed to examine three primary norms—legal, participatory, and normative beliefs—along with the intermediary variables of environmental concern (EC), awareness of negative consequences (ANCB), and acceptance of environmental responsibility (AER). Path analysis showed that legal norms (β = 0.329), normative beliefs (β = 0.371), and participatory norms (β = 0.220) exert the strongest direct effects on sustainable ecotourism, whereas EC (β = 0.124), ANCB (β = 0.074), and AER (β = 0.129) demonstrate weaker effects. Integrating spatial and behavioral components revealed that areas with high ecological suitability are simultaneously suitable for rainfed farming, making them vulnerable to land-use conversion if legal protection weakens. The findings highlight the need for targeted policy interventions, including strengthened legal enforcement in ecologically sensitive zones and community-based programs to enhance environmental responsibility.
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