scholarly journals Assessing the Need for Ecotourism Cluster Establishment in Georgia: Ways to Increase the Country’s Competitiveness

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (31) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Khakhishvili
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Cluster Development ◽  
Wine Tourism ◽  
Natural Monument ◽  
Strong Cluster ◽  
Different Parts

Georgia is famous for wine, hospitality, culture, and history at the international level. Before now, tourism in Georgia was only related to wine tourism and sea resorts, but in recent years, the country is positioning itself as an emerging destination for adventurous tourism. Industry potential is not fully utilized and it has more hidden possibilities to attract more visitors. This paper focuses on assessing the need for ecotourism cluster establishment in Georgia. In fulfilling this objective, a survey was conducted. Questionnaires were distributed to ecotourism service providers of the country. 54 managers of national parks and other protected areas (Lagodekhi Protected Areas, Kazbegi National Park, Martvili Canyon Natural Monument, Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and Machakhela National Park) were chosen for the survey. The selected respondents are the managers of the most popular ecotourism destinations among Georgian and foreign ecoturists. Due to the various locations in different parts of Georgia, it took about two weeks to conduct the survey. The results of the survey showed that ecotourism industry representatives agree on the need of cluster establishment for more development of the field. The paper also demonstrated that building promising ecotourism industry through strong cluster development is directly related to increasing the country’s competitiveness.

scholarly journals Protected area management in a post-natural world: negotiated governance at the Danish Wadden Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cormac Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Protected Area Management ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Large Protected Areas ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractNational parks and other large protected areas play an increasingly important role in the context of global social and environmental challenges. Nevertheless, they continue to be rooted in local places and cannot be separated out from their socio-cultural and historical context. Protected areas furthermore are increasingly understood to constitute critical sites of struggle whereby the very meanings of nature, landscape, and nature-society relations are up for debate. This paper examines governance arrangements and discursive practices pertaining to the management of the Danish Wadden Sea National Park and reflects on the relationship between pluralist institutional structures and pluralist, relational understandings of nature and landscape.

scholarly journals Epidemiology and hypothetical transmission cycles of Trichinella infections in the Greater Kruger National Park of South Africa: an example of host-parasite interactions in an environment with minimal human interactions

Parasite ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Louis J. La Grange ◽  
Samson Mukaratirwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Transmission Cycles ◽  
Sub Saharan

Knowledge on the epidemiology, host range and transmission of Trichinella spp. infections in different ecological zones in southern Africa including areas of wildlife-human interface is limited. The majority of reports on Trichinella infections in sub-Saharan Africa were from wildlife resident in protected areas. Elucidation of the epidemiology of the infections and the prediction of hosts involved in the sylvatic cycles within specific ecological niches is critical. Of recent, there have been reports of Trichinella infections in several wildlife species within the Greater Kruger National Park (GKNP) of South Africa, which has prompted the revision and update of published hypothetical transmission cycles including the hypothetical options based previously on the biology and feeding behaviour of wildlife hosts confined to the GKNP. Using data gathered from surveillance studies and reports spanning the period 1964–2019, confirmed transmission cycles and revised hypothesized transmission cycles of three known Trichinella species (T. zimbabwensis, Trichinella T8 and T. nelsoni) are presented. These were formulated based on the epidemiological factors, feeding habits of hosts and prevalence data gathered from the GKNP. We presume that the formulated sylvatic cycles may be extrapolated to similar national parks and wildlife protected areas in sub-Saharan Africa where the same host and parasite species are known to occur. The anecdotal nature of some of the presented data confirms the need for more intense epidemiological surveillance in national parks and wildlife protected areas in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa to unravel the epidemiology of Trichinella infections in these unique and diverse protected landscapes.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of a confinement strategy for reducing campsite impacts in Shenandoah National Park

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
SCOTT E. REID ◽  
JEFFREY L. MARION
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Adaptive Management ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Shenandoah National Park ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Selection Of

The expansion and proliferation of backcountry campsites is a persistent problem in many parks and protected areas. Shenandoah National Park (SNP) has one of the highest backcountry overnight use densities in the USA national parks system. SNP managers implemented a multi-option backcountry camping policy in 2000 that included camping containment with established campsites. These actions were intended to reduce the number of campsites and the area of camping disturbance at each site. This paper describes a longitudinal adaptive management assessment of the new campsite policies, applying quantitative measures of campsite conditions to evaluate the efficacy of management interventions. Physical campsite measurements combined with qualitative visitor interviews indicated SNP had successfully reduced the number of campsites and aggregate measures of camping-related disturbance in the Park, while minimizing the use of regulations, site facilities and staff resources. Implications for managers of other protected areas are that an established site camping policy can minimize camping disturbance, including the number and size of campsites, provided managers can sustain rehabilitation efforts to close and restore unneeded campsites. Experiential attributes, such as the potential for solitude, can also be manipulated through control over the selection of established campsites. Integrating resource and social science methods also provided a more holistic perspective on management policy assessments. Adaptive management research provided a timely evaluation of management success while facilitating effective modifications in response to unforeseen challenges. Conclusions regarding the effectiveness of a visitor impact containment strategy involving an established site camping option are offered.

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

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.

GOOD PRACTICES IN WINE TOURISM IN SELECTED COUNTRIES AND CONCLUSIONS FOR POLAND

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 119-142
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Pink
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Central Administration ◽  
Electronic Documents ◽  
Good Practices ◽  
Wine Tourism

Purpose: Evaluation of activities supporting the development of wine tourism in Poland in the context of best practices used by well-developed wine regions in different countries and issues related to wine tourism indicated by theoreticians. Method: In order to indicate the best practices applied by selected wine regions, we used a method of content and a case study analysis. The evaluation of activities supporting the development of wine tourism in Poland was made on the basis of an analysis of digital documents provided by the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Polish Tourist Organization, regional tourist organizations, and entities managing Polish wine routes. The assessment of winemakers' activities was based on the analysis of the content of online documents introduced by themselves. Among the 364 winemakers, only 152 had a website. The research sample of electronic documents generated by service providers was therefore 152. Electronic documents were analyzed from a point of view of the main information relevant to the enotourism planning, information about additional services and the availability of information for non-Polish speakers customers. Findings: There is lacking sustain activities supporting wine tourism at the level of the central administration. At the regional level, uneven activities are occurring, with varying intensity, depending on the region. Among the winemakers, the entities those involved in the promotion of their own tourist activities belong to the minority. Only 42% of entities have their own website, of which in 20% of cases the content of the website is inadequate to the enotourism activity, or the site was inactive. Assuming the activities taken on the three above mentioned levels, there is lack of continuity of the wine tourism development strategy among the stakeholders. Research and conclusions limitations: Only electronic documents were used for the analysis of the issued problem. In a further studies it would be justified to conduct observations allowing to assess the quality of provided services in the field of enotourism and focus groups with the participation of the entities from particular groups of stakeholders. Practical implication: The text indicates the best practices for Polish wine tourism. Originality: The Polish wine tourism industry has not been analyzed in terms of good practices. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of the documents content and information regarding enotourism organisation on three levels of stakeholders engaged in the promotion of wine tourism in Poland. Type of paper: Original theoretical and implementation study.

scholarly journals SPATIOTEMPORAL CHANGE ANALYSIS OF THE PROTECTED AREAS: A CASE STUDY – İĞNEADA FLOODPLAIN FORESTS

2021 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B3-2021 ◽  
pp. 735-740
Author(s):  
M. Toker ◽  
E. Çolak ◽  
F. Sunar
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Floodplain Forests ◽  
Landsat Satellite ◽  
Time Series Images ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Protected areas are important with land or water body ecosystems that have biodiversity, flora and fauna species. In Turkey, National Parks are one of the protected areas managed according to the National Parks Law No. 2873. Among them, the İğneada Floodplain Forests National Park, located in İğneada town in the province of Kırklareli, Turkey has been declared as a national park in 2007, and has an importance being a rare ecosystem, which consists of wetland, swamp, lakes and coastal sand dunes. Planning of Protected Areas can be done in a variety of ways, taking into account the balance of protection/use and should follow policies and guidelines. Today, for the sustainability and effective management of forest ecosystems, remote sensing technology provides an effective tool for assessing and monitoring ecosystem health at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, potential temporal changes in the National Park were analyzed with Landsat satellite time series images using two different methods. First method, the Landtrendr algorithm (Landsat-based Detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery) developed for multitemporal satellite data, uses pixel values as input data and analysis them by using regression models to capture, label and map the changes. In this context, Landsat satellite time series images were taken quinquennial between 1987 and 2007 and biennially until 2017 for Landtrendr analysis (i.e. before and after its declaration as a National Park, respectively). As a second approach, the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based platform, which facilitates access to high-performance computing resources to process large long-term data sets, was used to analyze the impact of land cover changes. The results showed that the area was subjected to various pressures (i.e. due to illegal felling, pollution, etc.) until it was declared as a National park. Although there was general improvement and recovery after the region declared as a Park, it was seen that the sensitive dynamics of the region require continuous monitoring and protection using geo-information technologies.

scholarly journals Ecotourism, Income Generation and Poverty Reduction: A Case of Kuala Tahan National Park (KTNP), Pahang, Malaysia

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-45
Author(s):  
Mukrimah A. ◽  
Mohd Parid M. ◽  
Motoe M. ◽  
Lim HF
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Household Income ◽  
National Park ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Cash Income ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Monthly Household Income ◽  
Income Sources

Ecotourism is one strategy for supporting conservation, generating income, and creating employment for communities living around protected areas. In Malaysia, the management of national parks (protected areas) focuses on the planning and implementation of various activities which contribute to the long-term conservation of the areas while mitigating or reducing conflicts between human and the environment. The issue is whether ecotourism development helps to improve income and reduce rural poverty. A case study was conducted in 2014 where 158 Malay households from Kampung Kuala Tahan were interviewed. Villagers engaged in economic activities related to ecotourism development in Kuala Tahan National Park (KTNP) area (2,477 sq. km) directly and indirectly. The result shows the average monthly household income of this village was RM4, 035. On the whole, about 90% of the average monthly household income was cash income while 10% income in kind. The income sources of villagers were from those within the state land forest areas (related to NTFP harvesting), and outside KTNP (related to forestry and ecotourism). Income generated outside KTNP(related to forestry and ecotourism) area was significantly high compared to those within state land forest and outside KTNP (non-forestry). On average, about RM1, 895 or 47% of the average monthly household income was generated from the ecotourism related activities and forest area. The highest percentage of cash income was from villagers’ engagement as tour guides. Income generated from this source accounted for 13% of household income. Ecotourism related retail stores or restaurant operators also significantly contributed to the average monthly household income at 10%. The incidence of poverty among the households in the village was 4% in 2014 compared to 3.4% among rural Malaysian households in 2012. The findings in this study showed that the income received from forestry related activities and ecotourism is important in reducing poverty among local households.

scholarly journals Improving National Park Management in Malaysia: Towards greater community participation

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (SI5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Naqiyuddin Baka ◽  
Saunah Zainon
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
Park Management ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
National Park Management ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
Global And Local

The study evaluates the wider impacts of a national park within the scope of an integrated environmental hub at the global and local level covering, first, divulges concepts relating to the current governance approach to national park management; second, empirical review in lieu with effective management of protected areas demonstrated by co-management and community-based management approach, third, a brief look at two referral case studies, ie.  Zagatala-Balakan Biosphere Reserves, Azerbaijan and Comana Natural Park, Romania; and fourth, addressing the efficiency use of local resources associated to those areas.  Finally, evaluation on the way and strategy forward for country’s intention to gauge on the potentials of National Park. Keywords: Bio-diversity; National Parks; Protected Areas; environment eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI5.2943

scholarly journals Assessment of losses to the local population due to restrictions on their ownership rights to land and property assets: The case of the Tunkinsky National Park, Russia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. e0251383
Author(s):  
Lyudmila Maksanova ◽  
Taisiya Bardakhanova ◽  
Natalia Lubsanova ◽  
Darima Budaeva ◽  
Arnold Tulokhonov
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Local Population ◽  
The Social ◽  
Actual Damage ◽  
Ownership Rights ◽  
The Impact

The impact of protected areas on local communities is the subject of intense discussions as part of the implementation of the global ecosystem protection agenda. Conflicts between the interests of environmental protection and the needs of socio-economic development become particularly acute when large areas of land are taken out of economic circulation as a result of organizing protected areas. In this case, there is an urgent need for detailed and reliable information about the social impacts of such land withdrawal on the well-being of the local population. An analysis of the methodological approaches widely presented in the literature, used to assess the social impact of protected areas, testifies to the insufficiency of completed and practically applicable methodological guidelines for the areas with significant restrictions for people who form part of the protected landscape. In this study, we understand the cost estimate of the social impact of national parks on the local population as a quantitative calculation of the losses due to restrictions on their ownership rights to land and property assets. The methodological approach consists in considering the category of losses as a sum total of the actual damage and lost profits. The assessment algorithm includes three stages: systematization of social impacts on citizens, development of indicators and data collection, and calculation of actual damage to the population and lost profits. The assessment is performed using the example of the Tunkinsky National Park located in the Tunkinsky municipal district of the Republic of Buryatia, a region of the Russian Federation, where there are 14 rural settlements with a population of more than 20,000 people. The results of the calculations show that the losses of the rural population due to legal restrictions on the registration of land dealings amount to 170.4 million USD. Taking into account the potential amount of administrative fines and the value of property subject to demolition, the losses amount to 239.2 million USD. It is more than an order of magnitude greater than the amount of own revenues of the Tunkinsky municipal district in 2011–2019. The results obtained demonstrate the real picture of the impact of restrictions on the rights of local people to land within the boundaries of national parks and are useful for developing measures to account for their interests and include protected areas in the socio-economic development of regions. The methodological approach developed by the authors can be used in other national parks, where it is necessary to optimize the policy of improving land use for local residents.

scholarly journals Attractiveness of protected areas for geotourism purposes from the perspective of visitors: the example of Babiogórski National Park (Poland)

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Widawski ◽  
Zdzisław Jary ◽  
Piotr Oleśniewicz ◽  
Piotr Owczarek ◽  
Julita Markiewicz-Patkowska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
National Park ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

AbstractThis article examines the tourist role of protected areas important for their unanimated nature potential. In Poland the highest form of legal protection is a national park. Babiogórski National Parks is one of 23 national parks in Poland. The aim of this article is to present its tourist attraction based on its geotourist potential considered by tourists who visit this park. At the beginning a brief history of protection of Babia Góra is presented. Based on stock-taking sightseeing method an analysis of the most important tourist attractiveness elements (like infrastructure or tourist values) is done. The focus on the values of unanimated nature is made grouping them into four main categories. As the result of research on infrastructure the most important accommodation units were indicated present at the surroundings of this National Park which is vital for its tourist capacity. For the correct functioning of tourist movement at the protected area the supporting infrastructure is important bearing a lot of functions. The function of channeling of the tourist movement as well as the didactic function are the most important for protection and correct use of geotourist values. Among the many elements of the supporting infrastructure the most important ones are tourist and didactic routes (their course and themes are presented). The most important part of the article is the presentation of the participants of the tourist movement opinions on the Babiogórski National Park tourist attractiveness. A survey was conducted and then analysed on 308 respondents in 2011. They were asked to judge both the quality of infrastructure as well as attraction of geotourist values together with their adaptation to reception by the tourist movement. The results analysis served as a base to appraise the state and perspectives for the geotourism development in Babiogórski National Park from the point of view of the receivers of tourist product i.e. the protected area.

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