MAPPING RECREATIONAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AT SUB-DISTRICTS OF MUAR

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) research are growing exponentially. Apparently, there is a need to consider spatial assessment for recreation provision service at the village scale, especially in southeast region of Asia. Mapping recreational CES is important in landscape planning and management, for identifying and designing recreation hotspots. The study areas were located at Muar district. The methodological design was divided into six steps. Firstly, the criteria were elicited based on recreational CES literature followed by determining its proxy-criteria. Next, constructing the ranking schemata, defining, and classifying each criterion into three ranks. Later, Geographic Information Systems ver. 10 (ArcGIS) was used to develop the criteria maps. Subsequently, questionnaires were distributed to experts to quantify the relative priorities of each criterion. Next, the relative priorities were rated using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) through Expert Choice ver. 11.5 (EC). Lastly, each criterion map was combined through raster calculator function in ArcGIS to develop the CES recreational provision maps. The result suggested that the recreation provision of Bandar Maharani, Sungai Terap, and Ayer Hitam are considered mediocre due to abundant of low-level recreation provision. Nevertheless, the recreation provision of the urban area is slightly better than the suburb and rural areas mainly due to usability and accessibility. In conclusion, low and moderate recreation provision areas need to be functionally improved to promote ecotourism and leisure activities. (C) 2018 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy.org .UK