Eliseo Cantellano Project

NetWeaver for a Local Recreation Framework at Central Mexico National Parks

Eliseo Cantellano works at the Zaragoza Faculty of Higher Superior Studies, National University of Mexico and is finishing doctoral studies at the Colegio de Postgraduados, Mexico.

Introduction

We have published research about the way local people perceive, use and design forest sites for recreation at two National Parks in Central México (Fig. 1).

Figure 1. Sites location

We compared with the Recreational Opportunity Spectrum and found a contrast because there is not a gradient but a three-group framework (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Local recreation framework.

The information providers were local people (visitors and peasant) and the variables involved in the study are objective and subjective with high level of uncertainty. For these reasons there is a necessity to construct a knowledge system based on fuzzy logic and NetWeaver has the methodological and conceptual framework to assess new sites for forest recreation.
This work in part of my PhD thesis research with the objective of construct a knowledge base involving the local perspective obtained at two National Parks, and the outcome will be the site suitability analysis for a new National Park.

Method

We pretend compose a hierarchy where each dependency network corresponds for each group (G1, G2, and G3) following the problem domain definition suggested by Reynolds (1998). Each dependency network represents a proposition about the condition of a forest site. The data links will be the physical characteristics of the site (water bodies, activities, space, traffic, etc). The framework will be constructed with NetWeaver and will be integrated inside The Ecosystem Management Decision Support System (EMDS) using ArcView 8.3 to apply that knowledge in selecting sites at the Izta-Popo National Park, located near Mexico City.

We hope contribute to establish a recreation forest planning for to be applied in temperate sub humid ecosystems in Central Mexico.