Can scenic indicator help sustaining healthy ecosystems of Fraser’s Hill?
Ecological landscape is among the factors that may implicate tourists’ visitations to a nature-based landscape of highland environment. It is found that the natural beauty of certain natural resources has a significant contribution to the development of a nature-based tourism. Perhaps, sustainab...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Book Chapter |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
WIT Press
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/41348/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41348/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41348/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/41348/4/41348.pdf |
| Summary: | Ecological landscape is among the factors that may implicate tourists’
visitations to a nature-based landscape of highland environment. It is found
that the natural beauty of certain natural resources has a significant
contribution to the development of a nature-based tourism. Perhaps,
sustainable landscape management is essential to continuously maintain the
rich biodiversity of an ecosystem. This study assessed the correlation of
scenic beauty of Fraser’s Hill to its ecological landscapes. The natural
heritage of Fraser’s hill can be identified through its unique ecosystems (e.g.
forest, waterfall and lake) that house varieties of flora and fauna. This study
had adopted the perception-based paradigm, in which the public were the
respondents. The necessary data were collected using: 1) photographic
questionnaire survey (non-locals public) and 2) questionnaire survey (in situ
tourists). Earlier, an exploratory field observation (EFO) was carried out on
site to determine the potential ecological attributes. Results of the
questionnaire survey show that the ecological attributes (e.g. hilly landform,
greenery and water elements) have implicated the scenic beauty of Fraser’s
Hill. Similarly, the results obtained from the second instrument agree that
the ecosystems (e.g. lake and waterfall) with ecological attributes are most
preferred for. Findings show that there is high agreement on the scenic
beauty of the natural and historical heritage. The insights provide
quantitative information that may implicate the sustainability of highland
environment, highland management practices, local authorities, economic
value, tourism industry and many more. Importantly, the findings suggest
that scenic beauty can be an indicator to healthy ecosystems that may further
sustain other sensitive environments of Malaysia.
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