Sustainable Utilisation of the Tourism and Recreational Potential of Protected Natural Areas: The Case of Jizzakh Region

This article examines the tourism and recreational potential of protected natural areas (PAs) in Jizzakh Region, including Zomin National Nature Park, the Zomin and Nurota State Nature Reserves, and the Arnasoy Wildlife Sanctuary, with particular emphasis on their sustainable utilisation. The study employs an integrated scoring approach, recreational carrying capacity assessment based on the Cifuentes methodology, and SWOT analysis. The findings indicate that Zomin National Nature Park possesses the highest tourism and recreational potential, while improvements in infrastructure and transport accessibility remain priorities for all the areas examined. An illustrative calculation for a hypothetical 50-hectare recreational zone indicates that its effective carrying capacity (ECC ≈ 1,836 visitors per day) is approximately 1.8–2.0 times higher than the indicative ecological benchmark. Accordingly, a daily visitation limit of 20 visitors per hectare (equivalent to 1,000 visitors per day for a 50-hectare area) is recommended. Extending the active tourism season is identified as the principal means of increasing annual visitor numbers while maintaining the recommended daily limit. The study also substantiates organisational and economic mechanisms for sustainable tourism and recreational development within the framework of national legislation.