How do the surrounding areas of national parks work in the context of landscape fragmentation? A case study of 159 protected areas selected in 11 EU countries

Landscape quality (LQ) encompasses diverse characteristic of the natural and cultural environment. The most effective tool to analyze LQ is the use of indicators. The main problem in the assessment of LQ is not the lack of indicators, but its multitude. That is why, the indicators’ categorization is a problematic issue. The paper aims to introduce and test the methodology for selecting the suitable indicators based on the example of two national parks located in the south-east part of Poland. The method composed of the following stages: (1) Selection of spatial units being analyzed; (2) selection of indicators type(s); (3) selection of specific indicators; (4) calculation of indicator set no 1; (5) analysis of the correlation between indicators’ pairs; (6) selection of a final set of indicators; (7) analysis of effectiveness. The latter stage, refers to the statistical analysis of significance between results obtained dependently on the data sources, a spatial unit of analysis and analyzed regions. The results showed that the categorization composed of ten, mainly composite indicators, can be applied to conclude on different levels of LQ of protected areas. The differences between two analyzed data sources, different spatial units, as well as diverse regions, occurred to be statistically insignificant. Generally, the results of the effectiveness analysis showed that a final categorization of LQ indicators is adequate to conclude on the diverse dimensions of LQ of analyzed protected areas.

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Mass tourism in protected areas – underestimated threat? Polish National Parks case study

Open Geosciences ◽

10.1515/geo-2019-0081 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 1046-1060

Author(s):

Krzysztof Widawski ◽

Zdzisław Jary

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

National Park ◽

Point Of View ◽

Mass Tourism ◽

External Threats ◽

Balanced Approach ◽

Table Mountains ◽

Tourist Flow

Abstract The article considers the tourist traffic as possible to elements of inanimate nature in protected areas. The highest form of protection in Poland - national parks, has been taken into account. The main goal is to diagnose the situation based on the analysis of official documents elaborated by the national park authorities. One of the important elements is to diagnose the threat to nature and indicate ways to neutralize it. At the beginning, the geotouristic potential of these parks was presented, where this type of resources is considered important from the point of view of tourism. The tourist function of the most important attractions in Poland was indicated. In the top ten there are as many as 4 national parks, including Tatrzański which takes first place. The size of tourist traffic in all 23 parks was analyzed. As a result, it was shown that the most popular, where tourist flow is of mass character, include mountain parks with significant geotouristic potential. Next, the current protection plans for them were analyzed: Tatrzański, Karkonoski, Table Mountains and Pieniński, where the annual tourist flow varies between 0.5 million and almost 4 million visitors per year. Threats were assigned to 4 groups: existing internal threats, potential internal threats, existing external threats and potential external threats. In each of the types of threats special attention was paid to those related to inanimate nature. It also indicated the ways in which park managers want to influence the change of negative trends. The basic conclusion was indicated, which boils down to the postulate of a balanced approach to the protection of both types of nature: animate and inanimate. In the case of animate nature, threats and suggestions for improving the situation seem to be much better diagnosed than in the case of inanimate nature.

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Ecotourism for Eco Friendly Guest and Green Host - A Case Study on Thenmala Ecotourism Project, Kerala

Atna Journal of Tourism Studies ◽

10.12727/ajts.3.8 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 36-47

Author(s):

T A Binoy

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

Local Community ◽

Biological Diversity ◽

Action Plan ◽

Indigenous Communities ◽

Environment Impact ◽

Nature And Culture ◽

Environment Impact Assessment

Ecotourism is a purposeful travel to understand the nature and culture of a particular area taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem, while producing economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources beneficial to the local people. Protected Areas such as national Parks, Biosphere Reserves and Wild Life Sanctuaries have figured prominently in biodiversity conservation and well-designed and managed Protected Areas can form the pinnacle of nation's efforts to protect biological diversity and also provide opportunities for recreation and tourism. Scientific studies show that planning ecotourism in Protected Areas as done in Thenmala ecotourism project, Kerala, first planned ecotourism project in India, which can be a model for other such destination development programmes. In Protected areas, developing forests as recreation spots can mitigate hardships of indigenous communities. This will provide monetary returns to thepublic exchequer, while protecting bio diverse patches with the support of the local community. For better planning and implementation of different components of ecotourism, zonalisation, site-specific action plan, reliable estimates of carrying. capacity and Environment Impact Assessment may be done in all the Protected Areas so as to avoid the ill effects of tourism. This research paper analyses and evaluates the methodology and typology of ecotourism practices at Thenmala, Kerala and proposing Thenmala as a model for the development of similar program in India

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Ecological Health Assessment of Chinese National Parks Based on Landscape Pattern: A Case Study in Shennongjia National Park

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111487 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11487

Author(s):

Hang Shu ◽

Chunwang Xiao ◽

Ting Ma ◽

Weiguo Sang

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

Landscape Pattern ◽

Index System ◽

National Park ◽

Ecosystem Health ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Landscape Patterns ◽

Construction Land

Assessing the health of the ecosystem based on the landscape pattern of national parks can facilitate policy makers in formulating more targeted conservation policies to better manage national park ecosystems. To analyze the landscape patterns and characteristics of the national park, the ecosystem health evaluation index system of the national park was constructed using the vigor-organization-resilience (VOR) model to evaluate the health status. In this study, the Shennongjia National Park in China was selected as a case study area to be assessed using the index system. The results revealed that the patches of construction land and farmland are the largest in number and the most complex in shape, reflecting the obvious fragmentation of construction land and farmland patches. All patch types in this national park were evenly distributed. The results of the analysis showed that the comprehensive index of national park heath, according to the VOR model, is 0.74, indicating that the ecosystems in this study area were in a good state of health. Ecosystems in strictly protected areas of this park had the highest ecosystem health index levels, while the traditional utilization areas had the lowest. Ecosystem health levels were characterized by significant spatial agglomeration characteristics, with high-high aggregation distribution areas, mainly clustered in strictly protected areas, and low-low aggregation distribution, mainly clustered in traditional utilization areas and marginal areas. This study provided a set of ecosystem health assessment systems and their practical use in China’s newly established national parks.

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Towards Dynamic Policy Instruments for Enhancing Biodiversity Conservation in National Parks: A Case Study on Bangladesh and Sarawak, Malaysia

Borneo Journal of Resource Science and Technology ◽

10.33736/bjrst.391.2017 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 11-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Md Rahimullah Miah ◽

Alexander Sayok ◽

Ahi Sarok ◽

Mohammad Belal Uddin

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Legal Aspects ◽

Positive Sign ◽

Key Factors ◽

High Tendency ◽

Dynamic Policy ◽

Administrative Domains

Asia is the most populous region, with a substantial number of global biodiversity hotspots and several megadiverse countries, including Malaysia, with rich cultural and natural heritages. In this region, natural heritages within protected areas is under threat with high tendency of biodiversity losses. Exploitation is widespread but effective conservation is hampered by lack of systematically dynamic policies and instruments. This study attempts to relook at key factors that strengthen policies towards conserving biodiversity at national parks (NPs) in Bangladesh and Sarawak, Malaysia. It focuses on the analysis and review of the present tools (policy, growth of national parks and legal aspects) used to enhance conservation activities within and around these areas through literature review, observations of some of the parks, as well as interviews with relevant staff and indigenous community. The study showed that the growth of NPs maximized for the period of 2010 to 2014 both in Bangladesh and Sarawak, Malaysia reflecting the importance that both countries are placing on the conservation of biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. This is indeed a positive sign that both two countries reveal towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 for the global protected areas network. Overall, the study suggests that the dynamic policy-based decision-making on sustainable biodiversity protection at NPs in both countries should incorporate development with environmental, economic, social, institutional and administrative domains.

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Skiers’ expectations as a challenge for managers of protected areas – a case study from the Tatra National Parks in Poland and Slovakia

eco mont (Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research) ◽

10.1553/eco.mont-13-1s41 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 41-54

Author(s):

Joanna Hibner ◽

Jarosław Balon ◽

Miłosz Jodłowski ◽

Szymon Ciapała

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks

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Impactos ambientais em Unidades de Conservação: Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas na visão dos profissionais envolvidos com a visitação

Revista Brasileira de Ecoturismo (RBEcotur) ◽

10.34024/rbecotur.2019.v12.6613 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bianca Costa Azevedo de Paiva

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

National Parks ◽

National Park ◽

The Public ◽

General Change ◽

Search Field ◽

Category Search

Esta pesquisa tem como finalidade analisar quais os impactos ambientais causados pela visitação pública no Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas na percepção dos profissionais envolvidos. Visando o alcance dessa finalidade, foram elaborados os seguintes objetivos específicos: estudar as características das Unidades de Conservação, focando na categoria de Parques Nacionais; pesquisar a estrutura do Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas e seu uso público e relacionar o uso público do Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas com os impactos ambientais gerados, na percepção dos profissionais envolvidos. A método utilizado foi estudo de caso e quanto aos meios foram pesquisa de campo e pesquisa bibliográfica. Através da coleta de dado no local da pesquisa, foi possível apontar alguns impactos ambientais perceptíveis aos profissionais envolvidos com a visitação no Parque Nacional de Anavilhanas, tais como poluição em geral, mudança na rotina dos animais da localidade, degradação das trilhas, entre outros. Environmental impacts in Protected Areas: National Nark Anavilhanas in professionals vision involved with the visitation ABSTRACT This research aims at examining the environmental impacts of public visitation at the Anavilhanas National Park in the perception of the professionals involved. Aiming to reach this goal, the following specific objectives were established: to study the characteristics of protected areas, focusing on National Parks category; search the structure of the Anavilhanas National Park and its public use and relate the public use of the Anavilhanas National Park with the environmental impacts, the perception of the professionals involved. The method used was the case study and as the means were the search field and bibliographic research. By collecting data at the site of research, it was possible to identify some environmental impacts perceptible to professionals involved in the visitation in Anavilhanas National Park, such as pollution in general, change in routine from local animals, degradation of trails and others. KEYWORDS: Impacts; Visitation; Anavilhanas.

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Landscape fragmentation of the Natura 2000 network and its surrounding areas

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0258615 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. e0258615

Author(s):

Alexandra Lawrence ◽

Fabian Friedrich ◽

Carl Beierkuhnlein

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Western Europe ◽

Natura 2000 ◽

Landscape Fragmentation ◽

The European Union ◽

Anthropogenic Pressures ◽

Mountainous Regions ◽

Anthropogenic Development ◽

Mesh Density ◽

Surrounding Areas

Habitat loss from anthropogenic development has led to an unprecedented decline in global biodiversity. Protected areas (PAs) exist to counteract this degradation of ecosystems. In the European Union, the Natura 2000 (N2k) network is the basis for continent-wide conservation efforts. N2k is the world’s largest coordinated network of protected areas. However, threats to ecosystems do not stop at the borders of PAs. As measured by a landscape fragmentation metric, anthropogenic development can affect the interiors of PAs. To ensure the long-term viability of the N2k network of PAs, this paper attempts to quantify the degree to which N2k sites are insulated from development pressures. We use a comprehensive dataset of effective mesh density (seff) to measure aggregate fragmentation inside and within a 5 km buffer surrounding N2k sites. Our results show a strong correlation (R² = 0.78) between fragmentation (seff) within and around N2k sites. This result applies to all biogeographical regions in Europe. Only a narrow majority (58.5%) of N2k sites are less fragmented than their surroundings. Remote and mountainous regions in northern Europe, the Alps, parts of Spain, and parts of eastern Europe show the lowest levels of fragmentation. These regions tend to hold the largest N2k sites as measured by area. In contrast, central and western Europe show the highest fragmentation levels within and around N2k sites. 24.5% of all N2k sites are classified as highly to very-highly fragmented. N2k PA age since initial protection does not correlate with the difference in exterior and interior fragmentation of N2k PAs. These results indicate that PAs in Europe are not sheltered from anthropogenic pressures leading to fragmentation. Hence, we argue that there is a high potential for improving PA efficacy by taking pre-emptive action against encroaching anthropogenic fragmentation and by targeting scarce financial resources where fragmentation pressures can be mitigated through enforced construction bans inside PAs.

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