Kharkheh National Park and Protected Area Environmental Risks Assessment Using TOPSIS Method

The most important role that the managed areas will play to attain sustainable development goals would be protecting ecosystem and genetic diversity to achieve the scientific, aesthetics, social and economic potential benefits in future. Proper management of protected areas requires a full understanding of the present conditions, detailed and exact implementation, planning, regular monitoring and risks changes detection in protected areas to understand how are they, how they would effect on nature, recovery and rehabilitation processes and to protect them in long term is very important. Karkhe National Park and protected area is one of the most valuable and most strategic areas in the country that can be protected. This study aimed to identify and analyze threatening risks in Karkhe protected area and national park. The Study area is located with an area of ​​15828 hectares (sum of national park and protected area) on both side of Karkhe river in Khuzestan province. In this research based on field visits and using the Delphi technique, that there were 15 experts and specialist joint it, 28 risks in two terms of the natural and anthropogenic environment (physicochemical, biological, economical, social and cultural) are identified. Then to order the identified risks, The TOPSIS method was used according to the three fectors, severity, probability and sensitivity of the host environment. The results showed that the risk of lack of conservative officer by closeness coefficient (CC) 1 is the highest risk in the area and The risk of soil pollution with heavy metals by closeness coefficient 0.149 is the lowest priority. The most obtain risks has been socio-economic risks. After ordering the environmental risks was found that existing risks in the region has been in a considerable level. Finally, strategies to control risk in the region was presented. As a result, management solutions should be provided to reduce, control, or eliminate the most important risks. In the meantime, strengthening the existing environmental laws and the necessary guarantees for their implementation seems necessary.