gis analysis of romanian hardly accessible mountain regions

GIS ANALYSIS OF ROMANIAN HARDLY ACCESSIBLE MOUNTAIN
REGIONS WITH A COMPLEX AND HIGH-VALUED TOURISTIC
POTENTIAL
Oana Cătălina Popescu*, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor
Oana Popescu
INCD URBANPROIECT BUCHAREST
Str. Nicolae Filipescu No. 53-55
RO- 020 961 Bucharest, Romania
*Corresponding author
Biographical Notes
Oana Popescu has earned a BS degree in Physics from the University of Bucharest in 1985,
received additional training in analytical programming (ICI Bucharest, 1989), informatics (Pascot
Electronics, 1992), ArcInfo GIS (Thetis, Venice, 2000), ArcView GIS 8.2 (ESRI Romania, 2002),
ArcGIS Spatial Analyst (ESRI Romania, 2002), and received certification in urban planning from
the Romanian Registry of Urban Planners in 2008. She is a researcher with the National Institute for
Urban and Spatial Planning in Bucharest since 1992. Her work experience includes the participation
in over twenty research projects (eight international), out of which ten as a leader (three
international).
Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrişor earned from the University of Bucharest a BS in Ecology (1997), from
the University of South Carolina an MSPH in Biostatistics (2000) and a PhD in Ecology (2004),
and is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography at the University of Bucharest. He is Scientific
Director of Urban and Spatial Planning at the National Institute for Research and Development in
Constructions, Urbanism and Sustainable Spatial Development URBAN-INCERC and Lecturer at
“Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, both in Bucharest, member of “Sigma Xi”,
and authored 129 papers, 9 books and chapters, 73 presentations, 83 lectures, and 20 regulations.
Abstract. The crucial importance of mountain regions for the cohesion policies is underlined by
key Romanian and European Union documents. However, the lack of a unique definition or criteria
used to delineate and analyze them constitutes a barrier to the elaboration of development strategies.
This study has created Geographical Information Systems-based methodology to select Romanian
hardly accessible mountain regions with a complex and high-valued touristic potential and
determine their characteristics using spatial analysis based on specific indicators. The results
indicate that mountain regions are affected by poor accessibility, resulting into the lack of basic
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential supplies, as well as education and health issues. Tourism trends suggest reduced accommodation,
food, and entertainment opportunities, increased number of tourists, but decreasing average
durations of stay and usage of touristic facilities. Based on these findings, the outstanding touristic
potential of Romanian mountain regions appears to be insufficiently valorized, calling for actions
on behalf of the authorities.
JEL classification codes L5, L8, N7
Keywords: GIS; mountain region; tourism; regional development; accessibility
Background
Among the goals of the European Union related to territorial cohesion, mountain regions represent a
priority (European Commission, 2001). Furthermore, the proposed European Constitution shows
that mountain regions, in conjunction with territorial and socioeconomic cohesion, are crucial
objectives of European regional development (The European Convention, 2003). Most regional
European policies address mountain regions; 95% of these areas receive funds either for
development or socioeconomic conversion (Popescu, 2008). The interests of mountain regions are
promoted in the EU by cooperative association (e.g., EUROMONTANA), networks of multisectoral professional organisms, and some INTERREG programs (e.g, Interreg IIIB: Carpathian
Project, Parks&Economy, Ruraltour, Shining Mountains, Development of a Sustainable Tourism or
the Alpine Space Programme). The mountain regions received special interest also due to their
vulnerability to environmental threats due to their special characteristics: inclusion of fragile
ecosystems, harsh climate, isolation, political and economic isolation, etc. (United Nations, 1992).
The sustainable development of these regions had been agreed by the adoption of the Convention
on the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians in Kyiv, 2003.
In Romania, mountain regions differ from other regions due to natural disadvantages (i.e., elevation,
clime, slope, low soil fertility, reduced access to the communication routes and markets), and
structural disadvantages (i.e., ageing active population, migration trends, restricted jobs, distances
from decisional centers, and insufficiently developed infrastructure) (Government of Romania,
2003). The Romanian Government aims to align the trends of tourism with the regional and
international goals, i.e., to increase the circulation, diversify the offers, and increase the quality of
services; another goal is to develop spatial development policies contributing to socioeconomic
79
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential cohesion of administrative units and regions, increased competitiveness, and the conservation of
natural and cultural diversity (Government of Romania, 2004). In order to implement these goals,
specific instruments aim to develop sustainable tourism, based on in-depth knowledge of the
ecosystems and environmental carrying capacity with respect to tourism, and identify areas with a
complex and high-valued touristic potential (Ministry of Regional Development and Housing,
2008).
The identification of mountain regions is based on their definition. However, this is not unique, as
different documents propose a variety of criteria, synthesized in Table 1 below.
[Table 1] Definition of mountain regions in different documents. The table indicates the definition
and its interpretation, as well as the source.
Definition
Source
Areas characterized by limited possibilities of using the land and high costs of
European
works due to: (a) the existence of different climate conditions, i.e, at elevations
Council, 1999
2
over 600-800 m; (b) presence of steep slopes, i.e, with a gradient of 1-5 per km ;
or (c) any combination of (a) and (b).
Physical, environmental, socioeconomic and cultural region where disadvantages
Euromontana,
derived from elevation and other natural factors must be accounted for in
2004
conjunction with socioeconomic constraints, and spatial and environmental
imbalance. Climate analysis should consider the latitude and geographical
position in addition to elevation. Physical aspects must include the landform, soil
type, and other factors in addition to the slope. Socioeconomic disadvantages
include the low density of population, isolation due to large distances from cities
and other economic and political centers, and the dependence on agriculture.
Elevation, slope and the environmental gradients generated are key components
Blyth et al.,
of mountain regions, but their combination is problematic; elevation alone
2002
excludes old and low mountains, and includes high elevation areas with little
landform and environmental variation. The following classes are proposed: (a)
elevation between 300-1000 m and elevation variation over 300 m; (b) elevation
between 1000-1500 m and slope over 50 or elevation variation over 300 m; (c)
elevation between 1500-2500 m and slope over 20; (d) elevation between 25003500 m; (e) elevation between 3500-4500 m; and (f) elevation over 4500 m.
80
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential The Euromountains project resumed precedent definition, but used in addition an index of
temperature contrast equal to 0.25. The project included only North-European areas, high elevation
areas, areas with a very diverse topography, or with extreme climate conditions, as well as any
possible combinations (Price, 2007).
In the south-eastern Europe, the definitions of the mountain region (Table 2) are mainly based on
elevation, occasionally on other criteria (Backmeroff et al., 1997; Price, 2000; Buttoud, 2001).
[Table 2] Definition of mountain regions by country.
Minimum
Country
elevation
Other criteria
(m)
Bulgaria
The Czech
Republic
600
700
Poland
350
Romania
700
Slovakia
600
Slovenia
600
Albania
650
Croatia
650
Norway
600
Former
Yugoslavia
Elevation between 300-350 m with slope over 15%
Elevation below 600 m if over half of agricultural parcels have
slopes over 25%
500
The availability of modern technologies has made possible a more precise and consistent
characterization of European mountain regions. Among them, Geographical Information Systems
(GIS) represent decision support systems involving the integration of spatially referenced data in a
problem solving environment (Cowen, 1988). A 2000 study used information from the GTOPO30
database, produced by the United States Geological Survey in 1996 in conjunction with the
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to develop two new criteria: (a) the slope, computed based
81
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential on a raster using the values of the eight adjacent cells, and (b) the local elevation range (LER),
again computed in a raster based on the minimum and maximum elevation and their difference at a
certain distance from each cell. The two criteria resulted into a new definition: a level difference
over 300 m within a 7 km radius from considered milestone. The application of this definition had
produced a new classification of mountain regions, including: (a) regions with elevations over 2500
m (oxygen threshold; also, all ecosystems are characteristic to mountain regions); (b) regions with
elevations between 1500-2499 m and slopes over 2˚ (prevents high elevation fields and plateaus
from inclusion); (c) regions with elevations between 1000-1499 m with slope over 5˚ or LER > 300
m (slope introduced to prevent plateaus from inclusion); and (d) regions with elevations between
300-999 m and LER > 300 m (Blyth et al., 2002).
This study will create a methodology utilizing the GIS technology in conjunction with other
software to identify Romanian hardly accessible mountain regions with a complex and high-valued
touristic potential and underline, through spatial analyses, their characteristics. The result may be
used by decision factors to develop special policies in line with the European and international
strategies providing for a sustainable development of these regions, and will contribute to the
knowledge of the status of mountain regions at the level of the European continent.
Methods
This study defined mountain regions as territories situated at high elevation, with a diverse
topography (even though at low elevation), or with extreme climate conditions (even though either
at low altitude or without a diverse topography), as well as any possible combination. Areas were
not included if their total surface was less than 5 km2. Administrative units were selected if over
50% of their territory overlapped mountain regions.
82
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential [Fig. 1] Selection of areas situated at elevations over 600 m in Romania (dark gray)
The identification of mountain regions was a process involving the following steps:
1. The selection of areas situated at elevations over 600 m, according to the Romanian Law of the
Mountain (Parliament of Romania, 2004), was based on the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the
terrain using ArcGIG 9.2. This step also involved the transformation of the raster file into the shape
(.shp) format using the 3-D Analyst. The final selection represented the mountain region (Fig. 1).
2. The ArcGIS selection of the administrative units that intersect the mountain region defined in
step 1 and cities situated at distances of 60 km or less from it (Fig. 2).
83
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential [Fig. 2] Selection of the administrative units that intersect the mountain region in Romania. Dark
gray symbolizes the mountain region, light gray is used for administrative units with elevations over
600 m, white is used for administrative units with elevations below 600 m (plain and hill areas),
while black indicates cities situated at distances of 60 km or less from the mountain region.
3. The identification of territories situated at high elevation was based on the selection of one of the
following three criteria: (a) administrative units with elevation over 600 m (1045), (b)
administrative units with elevation over 800 m (701), and (c) administrative units with elevation
over 1000 m (532). Based on other studies, the second criterion was preferred. The 701 units
constituting the mountain region represent approximately 22.1% of all administrative units in
Romania, and out of these 89 (12.7%) are urban (Fig. 3).
84
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential [Fig. 3] Administrative units situated within the mountain region (elevations over 800 m) in
Romania (dark gray).
[Fig. 4] Administrative units situated within the mountain region with a complex and high-valued
touristic potential in Romania.
4. The assessment of the touristic potential of administrative units was based upon the criteria
presented in Table 3. Based upon the scores, administrative units were given a status reflecting the
85
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential touristic potential of their resources: very high (over 25 points), good (20-25 points), fair (14-20
points), and low (less than 25 points). The end result of this stage was the selection of 426 units
(Fig. 4).
[Table 3] Criteria and scores used to rank the touristic potential of Romanian administrative units
within the mountain region.
Category
Natural resources
Total
Criteria
score
25
Environment
10
Therapeutic factors
10
Natural reserves
5
Historical monuments of national
interest
Museums and public collections
Cultural heritage
25
Art and folklore traditions
Institutions organizing shows and
concerts
Repeatable cultural events
Tourism
infrastructure
20
infrastructure
30
8
9
8 or 4
8 or 4
0 or 4
Accommodation units
7
Treatment facilities
5
Conference and exhibition facilities
6
Ski, cable transportation
1
Other leisure facilities
1
Access to major transportation
Technical
Score
routes
16
Town infrastructure and services
9
Electronic communication
5
5. The identification of hardly accessible administrative units with a complex and high-valued
touristic potential required a spatial definition of hard access. In our study, the hardly accessible
units were those accessible only via local (county or communal) routes, and those situated at large
distance from the closest representative centers and accessible via national routes in a precarious
technical condition. This step involved a ranking of access from high to low: (a) European highway;
86
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential (b) main national highway; (c) secondary national highway, county or communal highway for units
situated in the hill or mountain region; (d) lower rank highway and position in a cul-de-sac; (e) low
rank highway and large distance from higher rank routes. At the end, 162 units (32.3% of all units
situated at high elevations) were selected (Fig. 5).
[Fig. 5] Hardly accessible administrative units situated within the mountain region with a complex
and high-valued touristic potential in Romania.
6. The final selection of hardly accessible administrative units situated at elevations over 800 m
with a complex and high-valued touristic potential was based on the grouping in clusters of at least
three units from those identified in stage 5. This stage excluded singular isolated units, even though
meeting all criteria specified below. The rationale consisted of the fact that a regional policy can be
applied only to a large and compact area. As a result, 16 hardly accessible mountain regions with a
complex and high-valued touristic potential, including 131 units (out of which seven are cities),
were selected (Fig. 6).
7. The construction of the database of hardly accessible mountain regions with a complex and highvalued touristic potential followed the algorithm displayed in Fig. 7. The selected Database
Management System was Visual FoxPRO 8, compatible with ArcView GIS 3.2 used for spatial
analyses. The database contained data on the indices presented in Table 4, provided by specialized
87
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential agencies: physical data were derived from scanned topographic maps; other data were provided by
the Tourism Research Institute, National Institute of Statistics, and other specialized agencies.
Further computations were performed using Excel and Visual FoxPRO 8. The values were checked
for errors. In a next step, the database was imported into GIS. Final additional verifications were
performed for some units, based on the result of analyses using specific indices, compared to other
ongoing or past results. GIS analyses were based on assessments performed using the values of
indices to establish rankings of the administrative units.
[Fig. 6] Hardly accessible administrative areas situated within the mountain region with a complex
and high-valued touristic potential in Romania (black).
[Fig. 7] Algorithm for the creation of hardly accessible administrative areas situated within the
mountain region with a complex and high-valued touristic potential database.
88
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential [Table 4] Indices used in the analysis of hardly accessible administrative units situated within the
mountain region with a complex and high-valued touristic potential.
Category
Index
Landform
Average elevation
Climate
Number of days with snow, snow thickness by
massif
Temperature
Annual average temperature
January average temperature
Physical
July average temperature
Land cover and use
Total surface
Agricultural area
Arable land (% of agricultural area)
Permanent crops (% of agricultural area):
Vineyards and nurseries
Orchards and nurseries
Permanent pastures
Forests by type: broadleaf, conifers, mixed
Total population
Density of population
1992-2006 and 2002-2006 population
Population by age groups
Population by age groups
Demography
Ageing
Age dependence
Natural variation and migration
Growth in last three years (rate per 1000 people)
Migration in last three years (rate per 1000
people)
89
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential Category
Index
Work resources
Population by working age
Quality of work resources
Renewal of the workforce
Activity rate
Employees per 1000 people
Number and percentage of employees by activity type
Active population
Activity rate
Number and weight of active population by
activity type
Unemployment rate
Number of small and medium enterprises
Industry units
Agricultural area
Size and % of administrative territory
Agricultural potential
Forested area
Size and % of administrative territory
Forestry potential
Results and Discussion
The study aimed to create a methodology utilizing the GIS technology in conjunction with other
software to identify Romanian hardly accessible mountain regions with a complex and high-valued
touristic potential and underline, through spatial analyses, their characteristics. The results
underlined a series of common characteristics that diminish the changes of exploiting the touristic
potential of all identified regions:
(a) The quality and development of roads are insufficient; many units do not have direct road access
and/or cannot utilize them during the rainy seasons. This situation affects negatively the economy
and exchanges.
90
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential (b) Most households utilize well for water supplies, wood, oil, or coal stoves for heating and have
limited Internet access.
(c) Education has a low quality due to the infrastructure and lack of qualified personnel. This
situation also affects the quality of the work force. Most young people from these areas abandon
education due to poverty, lack of transportation and poor motivation originating from the income
that education could bring.
(d) Access to medical services represents a serious issue, with particular focus on the ageing
population, requiring special care.
[Fig. 8] Density of accommodation units in hardly accessible administrative areas situated within
the mountain regions with a complex and high-valued touristic potential in Romania. Each dot
symbolizes ten units.
91
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential [Fig. 9] Density of food and dining units in hardly accessible administrative areas situated within
the mountain regions with a complex and high-valued touristic potential in Romania. Each dot
symbolizes ten units.
[Fig. 10] Number of accommodation, food and dining units in hardly accessible administrative
areas situated within the mountain regions with a complex and high-valued touristic potential in
Romania.
92
Oana Cătălina Popescu, Alexandru-Ionuţ Petrisor, GIS Analysis of Romanian Hardly Accessible
Mountain Regions with a Complex and High-Valued Touristic Potential The situation of the touristic potential is displayed in Fig. 8, 9, and 10. Fig. 8 and 9 display the
distribution of the density of accommodation units, respectively food and dining units, while Fig.
10 shows the distribution of the total number of both accommodation and food and dining units in
hardly accessible administrative areas situated within the mountain region with a complex and highvalued touristic potential in Romania. Tourism trends suggest reduced accommodation, food, and
entertainment opportunities, an increase in the number of tourists, but a decrease of the average
duration of stay, and reduced usage of the touristic facilities.
The limitations of the analyses have been due to the availability of data for some of the indices.
Additional data would strengthen the relevance of the findings. However, the results are consisted
with other studies developed in the same area.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by National Center for Program Management at the Ministry of Education
and Research, grant #1219, “GIS model for the valorization of hardly accessible alpine areas
with complex potentials for tourism, in order to include them in tours. Development of the valleys
of Lotru and Oltet (VALOT)”, coordinated by the National Institute of Research and Development
in Urban and Spatial Planning URBANPROIECT, Bucharest, with the following partners: the
National Institute for Research and Development in Tourism, Bucharest; SC Electrovâlcea SRL,
Râmnicu Vâlcea; and the Geography Institute of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest.
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