Environmental degradation and its impact on tourism in Jazan, KSA using Remote Sensing and GIS

This study investigates environmental degradation and its impact on ecotourism in Jazan, KSA, using remote sensing and GIS. The study aimed to employ remote sensing and GIS to study the state of the vegetation threatened by desertification in the Jazan region. Two Landsat satellite images (ETM) captured in May 1987 and May 2002 were acquired for the purpose of this study and were processed and analyzed using ERDAS Imagine V. 8.5. The final output maps have been produced using Arc GIS V.9.2. The results of the study indicated that the vegetation of Jazan was exposed to environmental degradation between 1987 and 2002, especially in the eastern highlands and mountain slopes. The area lost approximately 46% of its total vegetation cover between 1987 and 2002, an average annual loss of 3%. This information clearly reveals the deterioration and decline of the vegetation in 2002, a change that will inevitably contribute to the emergence of desertification and drought (Ignacio et al. 2010). In addition, the demographic growth and steady increase in population produce their own effects on the productivity of agricultural land and cause soil erosion and drying due to decreases in organic elements. All of these factors result in desertification and its associated negative effects on ecotourism in the Jazan region. In addition, this continuous loss of green spaces causes a decrease in the individual shares of green areas. Several strategies are recommended to deal with this problem.