Use The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) In Protected Area Management (Naby Matta – Tartous) For Developing Eco-Tourism

The eco-tourism is an important element in the economic and social development at the both local and international levels. It represent an essential economic resource for the governmental sector, so this research particularly important because it is looking for the possibility of using GIS techniques in the protected areas management. The objective of this study is to verify the GIS importance in creating data-base which is significant for Naby Matta protected area managers; this data-base is basically helping in the development of the ecotourism. The results of research confirmed the importance of geographic information systems in designing of database and the various maps and its role in determining the steps tourism development such as determining the places of assimilation and classify it according of the visitors density, select the better tracks for pedestrians, the appointment of entry points and restaurants, observation points, in addition to the investment potential of geographic information systems in spatial analysis such as proximity and distance analysis of particular point from another point, or search for a particular tourist attraction and find it such as searching for the best spots to enjoy the picturesque scenery away from sensitive environmental housing thus saving time and effort and speed in the service of visitors.

Proposition of a methodology for producing orthophotos from Google Earth free browser images

Orthorectification is the process of geometrically correcting imagery for geometric distortions which can be caused by topography, camera geometry, and sensor related errors. The output of orthorectification has the same geometric characteristics of a traditional map. But getting areal or satellite images is an expensive process requiring complex administrative procedures . In this study we propose take advantage of free images available in the browser Google Earth in order to produce an orthophoto. Then we will assess the horizontal accuracy of the resulted orthophoto to know the limitations of its use engineering applications such as maps production and updating. The proposed methodology is based on the flight simulation process within Google Earth to acquire a stereoscopic pair of overlapping images. After that, this pair will be oriented using control points. The oriented pair is then used to generate a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and to generate the orthophoto. Later, we will examine the accuracy of this orthophoto by comparing it with a topographic plane (scale 1/1000) and with a rectified satellite image of the same area.

Using satellite images in updating topographic maps (An applicated study on Al-Bahlolia district)

The science and art of producing maps had been subjected to the changes as a result of new recent techniques developments at space photogrammetry, that lead to appearance of programs and applications in the computer's world. This associated with the advent of information age and Geographic information system that changed the traditional topographic map from just a map to an analyzing and viewing tool. All Syrian Topographic maps are old, out dated, and largely exist in paper form. Due to the high cost of aerial photography, These maps have not been updated for many years and such are not useful for planning. Therefore, there is an urgent need to produce new maps using high resolution satellite images. The research put a method for updating topographic maps of Al-Bahlolia district which have scales (1/50000) and (1/200000), By using Cartosat1 images. After updating, The results were that there is increasing in the area of planted land. In addition to building developments, increasing of length and density of roads between and inside villages. Contour lines also have been generated automatically, so efforts and time were be saved.