Mutual Impacts of Geocaching and Natural Environment

Rising popularity of geocaching is linked to increased risk of negative impacts on natural environment. Based on that, this paper intends to present possible approach of how to evaluate these impacts in the Landscape protected area Moravian Karst (Czech Republic) and in the Vrátna dolina valley (National park Malá Fatra, Slovak Republic). Recreation along with nature conservation has been solved in these areas in the log-run and geocaching has been steadily extending offer of recreational activities. Therefore, it seems desirable to examine how geocaching affects environment and simultaneously how topography or land cover influences availability or difficulty of caches. 57 caches (i.e. one third of the total) has been analyzed in the Moravian Karst and 11 caches in the Vrátna dolina valley. To assess impacts, own classification of indicators has been suggested, such as cache attendance, environment attractiveness or visually detected impacts of geocaching on natural environment. Our study revealed the major risk lies primarily in geo-highways which – with respect to soil type, land cover and intensity of cache attendance – grow rather fast. Despite the local nature of detected impacts, an increased attention shall be devoted to environment care and specifically to regulation of attendance.

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Land Use/Land Cover Classification of the Natural Environment

Applied Geoinformatics for Sustainable Integrated Land and Water Resources Management (ILWRM) in the Brahmaputra River basin ◽

10.1007/978-81-322-1967-5_5 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 17-23

Author(s):

Rajesh Thapa ◽

Stefan Lang ◽

Elisabeth Schöepfer ◽

Stefan Kienberger ◽

Petra Füreder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Land Cover Classification ◽

Land Use Land Cover

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Mapping of the Land Cover Changes in High Mountains of Western Carpathians between 1990–2018: Case Study of the Low Tatras National Park (Slovakia)

Land ◽

10.3390/land9120483 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 483

Author(s):

Michaela Žoncová ◽

Pavel Hronček ◽

Bohuslava Gregorová

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

National Parks ◽

National Park ◽

Slovak Republic ◽

Field Research ◽

Western Carpathians ◽

Land Cover Changes ◽

High Mountains ◽

Mass Tourism ◽

Most Significant Change

At present, the protection of nature and landscape in the high mountains of the Western Carpathians, protected as national parks, is becoming increasingly at the forefront of society’s interests in connection with the development of their economic use and the development of mass tourism. Our research was focused on analyzing the extent and character of land cover changes in the Low Tatras National Park in Slovakia over the last 30 years (1990–2018) using CORINE land cover (CLC) data. The period captures almost the entire existence of the Slovak Republic. Therefore, it was possible to evaluate the landscape changes in the protected area and to identify barriers and possibilities of its long-term sustainable development. Based on computer modeling, the main areas of the land cover changes were identified, and on the basis of historical-geographical and field research, land cover flows were determined and justified in the studied landscape of the national park. Changes were monitored using three methods: by comparing CLC maps over the years, by analyzing land cover flows, and by comparing landscape metrics obtained through the PatchAnalyst. Land cover changes occurred on up to 20% of the national park area in the given period. The most significant change was observed in the CLC class coniferous forests, with almost a 12% decrease. Conversely, there was an increase of more than 11% in the CLC class transitional woodland-shrub.

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Exploring the impacts of protected area tourism on local communities using a resilience approach

Koedoe ◽

10.4102/koedoe.v56i2.1161 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jennifer Strickland-Munro ◽

Susan Moore

Keyword(s):

Cultural Values ◽

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Local Community ◽

Social Equity ◽

Local Communities ◽

Economic Opportunities ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

Building Community ◽

Negative Impacts

As the protected area mandate expands to include social equity, the impacts of parks and their tourism on neighbouring indigenous and local communities is receiving growing practical and theoretical interest. This article reported on one such study, which explored the impacts of protected area tourism on communities bordering the iconic Kruger National Park in South Africa and Purnululu National Park in Australia. The study drew on interviews with park staff, tourism operators and community members. Guided by a conceptual framework grounded in resilience thinking, interactions amongst the parks, tourism and local communities were revealed as complex, contested and multi-scalar. Underlying drivers included cultural norms and values based on nature, entrenched poverty, poor Western education and economic opportunities associated with tourism. Park tourism offered intrinsic opportunities and benefits from nature conservation and associated intangible cultural values. More tangible benefits arose through employment. Damage-causing animals and visitation difficulties were negative impacts. Interaction with tourists was limited, with a sense of disconnect evident. Findings indicated the need for multifaceted, carefully considered policy responses if social equity and benefits for local communities are to be achieved. Framing the impacts of protected area tourism through the resilience framework provided a useful way to access local community perceptions whilst retaining awareness of the broader multi-scalar context in which interactions occur. Conservation implications: Perceptions of separation and lack of education to engage in economic opportunities are major issues. Intrinsic appreciation of parks is an important platform for building future opportunities. Accrual of future benefits for local communities from park tourism depends on developing diverse economic opportunities, building community capacity and managing expectations and addressing economic disadvantage.

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COMPETITIVENESS OF SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM AT THE BROMO TENGGER SEMERU NATIONAL PARK

Jurnal Penelitian Sosial dan Ekonomi Kehutanan ◽

10.20886/jpsek.2021.18.1.45-62 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 45-62

Author(s):

Joshi Maharani Wibowo

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Biosphere Reserve ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Primary Data ◽

Tourism Destination ◽

Conservation Areas ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Travel And Tourism ◽

Negative Impacts

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (BTSNP) is one of the conservation areas in Indonesian that functions as a protected area, a biosphere reserve area, and a tourism destination. The research was conducted to determine the BTSNP sustainable competitiveness potential as a tourism destination as well as conservation area. This research used secondary data obtained from the TripAdvisor site in 2018 and primary data obtained through interviews, FGD, documentation, and observation. The data was analyzed by using a sentiment analysis approach based on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) concept. The result showed that BTSNP’s sustainable competitiveness was most negatively influenced by tourism policy and environmental conditions. To overcome those of negative impacts, the related stakeholders need to apply more suitable policies based on natural and social condition of BTSNP, such as biosphere reserve and local tourism clustering-based policy. The purpose of developing a new local tourism attraction (clustering) in BTSNP was to overcome waste and excess tourist capacity in the BTSNP protected area. The clustering also aims to maximize local tourism development strategies based on the biosphere reserve concept in the BTSNP area. So, the policies related to biosphere reserve and tourism clustering can effectively increase sustainable competitiveness ecotourism in BTSNP.

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Land Use/Land Cover Changes in the Tlemcen Region (Algeria) and Classification of Fragile Areas

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147761 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7761

Author(s):

Abdelkader Bardadi ◽

Zahira Souidi ◽

Marianne Cohen ◽

Mohamed Amara

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Forest Fires ◽

National Park ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Land Use Land Cover ◽

K Nearest Neighbor ◽

Landsat Images ◽

Mountain Areas

The Tlemcen region is characterized by very diverse and steep areas exposed to gravity hazards, especially in high and medium mountain areas. Tlemcen National Park was chosen for this study, the main objective of which is to map fragile areas in close relation to reduced vegetation cover due to land-use changes and forest fires. Multi-source data were used to monitor land use/land cover (LULC)patterns in the study area between 1987 and 2017. The methodology is based on an object-oriented classification of the Landsat images, using the K nearest neighbor method for mapping the major LULC classes at the national park level. The results show that LULC is constantly changing in the study area. In 1987, the landscape was made up of (16.5%) oak forests (holm oak, cork oak, zean oak) and Aleppo pine, which then deteriorated following repeated fires in the nineties to barely represent 7.22% of the surface in 1995, followed by a fast forest reclamation, with the forest area doubling in 10 years (13.46% of the area in 2005), and a near stabilization of the forest cover in 2017 with 14.68% of the area. These mutations are mainly due to fluctuations in anthropogenic action. Despite past declines and disturbances, the current forested area in the Tlemcen area represents significant forest capital classified as a national park to be protected and developed.

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Do visitors attract or repel vertebrates in an urban park in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest?

Revista Brasileira de Ecoturismo (RBEcotur) ◽

10.34024/rbecotur.2015.v8.6521 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

Author(s):

André Scarambone Zaú ◽

Gustavo Pena Freitas ◽

Gabriela Akemi Macedo Oda

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Rio De Janeiro ◽

National Park ◽

Urban Park ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Human Influence ◽

The Road ◽

Visitation Rates ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Different Levels

Ecotourism is an important tool for biodiversity conservation in protected areas. However, high visitation rates and intensive public use can affect the wildlife. The present study aimed to evaluate vertebrate foraging in areas under different levels of human influence in the Tijuca National Park, a protected area within the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We used baits to attract vertebrates in areas with and without visitor facilities, at distances of 5, 35, and 100 meters from the road. We have analyzed the removal of bait by vertebrates in such treatments and identify higher consumption associated to greater human presence. The presence of visitors and visitor facilities (e.g., parking lots, barbecue pits, picnic tables, and playgrounds) significantly increases bait consumption. Park managers should consider the negative impacts of tourism on wildlife searching for ways to minimize them. RESUMO O ecoturismo é uma importante ferramenta para a conservação da biodiversidade em áreas protegidas. No entanto, as altas taxas de visitação e uso público intensivo podem afetar a fauna em áreas protegidas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o forrageamento de vertebrados em áreas sob diferentes influências antrópicas no Parque Nacional da Tijuca: uma unidade de proteção integral dentro da metrópole do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Foram usadas iscas em áreas com e sem infraestrutura para visitantes, em distâncias de 5, 35 e 100 metros das margens da estrada, dentro de cada sítio de estudo. Análises apontaram que em áreas onde a presença humana é menos constante, o consumo de iscas de bananas foi menos intenso. A interferência causada por visitantes do parque sobre a intensidade do consumo de isca é significativa e influenciada por estruturas de visitação como estacionamento, churrasqueiras, mesas de piquenique e playground. Gestores de parques devem considerar tais impactos do turismo, visando minimizar influências negativas sobre a fauna. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Gestão de Unidade de Conservação; Uso Público; Parque Nacional da Tijuca; Ecoturismo; Efeito de Borda.

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Spatial distribution of landslide vulnerability level in Langkat Regency, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/912/1/012085 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 912 (1) ◽

pp. 012085

Author(s):

A S Thoha ◽

Muhdi ◽

P Patana ◽

T Y Sari ◽

D L N Hulu

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Land Cover ◽

National Park ◽

Index Method ◽

Study Objective ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Park Area ◽

Agricultural Areas ◽

North Sumatra ◽

Very High

Abstract Forest and land degradation tend increase and can trigger an increased risk of disaster. The andslide is a deadly disaster that frequently occurs in Indonesia, particularly in Langkat Regency. The study objective was to analyze the spatial distribution of landslide vulnerability levels in Langkat Regency, North Sumatera Province. The spatial distribution of landslide vulnerability level was used the Storie Index method with four variables, including rainfall, slope, soil type, and land cover type. The results of this study were the landslide vulnerability level and the area of spatial distribution with high – very high vulnerability levels. The spatial distribution of landslide vulnerability level in Langkat Regency is mostly at a moderate level with the area reaching nearly 32%, while the area of the high – very high vulnerability level is 19,77% of the total area of Langkat Regency. The widest area that occupied the high – very high landslide vulnerability level in Langkat Regency includes three districts, including Bahorok, Batang Serangan, and Sei Bingai. Areas that are very vulnerable to landslides are generally precipitous with a land cover of plantation and agricultural areas. Most of the high landslide vulnerability areas are included in the Gunung Leuser National Park area. Various parties need to pay serious attention to landslide areas with high – very high vulnerability levels to reduce disaster risk.

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Integration of SWOT Analysis with Remote Sensing Method as a Sustainable Planning and Management tool for Protected Areas

Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology ◽

10.24925/turjaf.v8i5.1134-1138.3322 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 1134-1138

Author(s):

Murat Atasoy

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Cover ◽

Protected Areas ◽

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Swot Analysis ◽

Management Tool ◽

Planning And Management ◽

Sustainable Planning ◽

Tourism Potential

Protected areas are one the most important nature conservation landscapes and during the last few decades, the importance of natural areas have been considered as a priority for lifestyle preferences of people around the world. Karatepe Aslantaş National Park is one of the examples for these protected areas in Turkey, however; there have been limited studies focusing on the preservation and development of a socioeconomic plan for the aforementioned national park. Therefore, this study aims to develop planning and management priorities of Karatepe Aslantaş National Park and determine tourism potential towards future-oriented conservation. In this regard, a SWOT analysis was performed to develop sustainable planning and design proposals. To determine the historical transformation of a protected area and its surroundings, Land use/land cover-change (LUCC) detection was performed using Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat TIRS/OLI satellites images of the study area for the years 1990 and 2018. The results showed that in 1990, the mixed forest class dominated the study area (2376.6 ha), likewise, it was the most effective land cover class in 2018 (2178.14 ha). Agricultural land with natural vegetation class occupied the second largest area for both 1990 and 2018 with 1264.72 ha and 880.13 ha, respectively. A marked decrease was found for the transitional woodland/shrubs cover (565.8 ha in 1990 to 330.35 ha in 2018). Among the all land use classes, the highest percentage of change was found for broad-leaved forest cover at 200% between 1990 and 2018, while the lowest percentage of change occurred to water bodies with 8.82% in the same time frame. Regarding the findings, management proposals have been developed to conserve the protected area considering its tourism potential and archeological heritage values. Therefore, it is recommended that the lack of planning and management strategies needs to be fulfilled as a legal commitment by government agencies.

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Long-term change monitoring of natural grasslands ecosystem in support of SDG 15.3.1

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21697 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Cristina Tarantino ◽

Maria Adamo ◽

Palma Blonda

Keyword(s):

Land Cover ◽

Spatial Resolution ◽

Protected Area ◽

National Park ◽

Land Abandonment ◽

Support Vector ◽

Natural Grasslands ◽

Natural Grassland ◽

Sentinel 2

Assessing and maintaining the conservation of natural and semi-natural grassland ecosystems is one of the most important actions of the Biodiversity Strategy by the European Commission.The present study focuses on the detection of long-term changes, from 1990 to 2018, of natural grasslands ecosystem, at local scale, in the &#8220;Murgia Alta&#8221;, a National Park as well as a Natura 2000 protected area, Southern Italy. The study site represents one of the largest areas for the conservation of such ecosystem in Italy. It is under pressure and in danger of destruction due to soil graining for agricultural intensification, illegal expansion of extraction sites, fires and land abandonment with consequent biodiversity loss.Land Cover (LC) changes and class trends are one of the measures (sub-indicator) required for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 15.3.1 Indicator (&#8220;Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area&#8221;) of the Agenda 2030 by United Nations.Multisource/multiresolution free available satellite data (visible, near infrared and short wave infrared spectral bands) were considered. Historical images from Landsat (4 images per year, one per season) were analyzed to produce different LC multiclass maps for 1990, 2001, 2004, 2011 and 2018 at 30 m spatial resolution, with an automatic data-driven classifier (Support Vector Machine). For 2018 Sentinel-2 data, 10 m spatial resolution, were also considered.The mean value of the Overall Accuracies obtained for the LC maps from Landsat was 95%. Similar value was obtained in the last year from Sentinel-2.Then natural grassland layer was extracted from those maps to analyze the trend of the grasslands ecosystem over time. The findings obtained indicate a total loss in the extension of the ecosystem of about 18% from 1990 to 2018. The major decrease (26%) occurred in 1990-2001. Then a modest decrease followed up to 2004 (year of institution of the National Park). Finally a slight increase probably due to land abandonment followed to fire events was quantified after 2004.From the comparison of the different LC maps obtained, the decrease of natural grasslands resulted mainly due to transformation into agricultural areas.In addition, these results are consistent with those obtained using Corine Land Cover maps available for the same period although at a coarser scale.The SDG sub-indicator was evaluated inside the protected area and in a buffer, 10 km, area around. This sub-measure, which can be evaluated from time-series of satellite free data, can support long-term monitoring of protected area and can be used not only for the resilience evaluation of the study site to climate changes but also for the evaluation of conservation policies and as input to scenario modelling.

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