scholarly journals Natural heritage: Provision of cultural ecosystem services from the Malyovitsa Range of the Rila National Park

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 41-59
Author(s):  
Mladen Silvestriev ◽  
Bilyana Borisova ◽  
Radenka Mitova

Nature-based tourism and recreation are attracting attention today as the most favourable form of direct connection between people and nature, and as a very successful tool to motivate people to protect their natural heritage. This study aims to develop and test a methodology to assess the potential of an acknowledged natural heritage site in Bulgaria - Malyovitsa Range and Urdini Cirque in ‘Rila’ National Park to provide cultural ecosystem services. A holistic approach is applied, using landscapes as the main territorial unit, and source of information. For the purpose of practicing representative types of mountain tourism: ‘mountain hiking’, ‘nature education’ tourism, ‘ski touring’ and ‘mountaineering’ a total of 15 ecosystem services were assessed based on 25 biophysical and social indicators. ‘Primary forest landscapes on moraine materials’ and ‘Primary landscapes with mugo pine on igneous rocks’ receive the highest score. Based on the results obtained, an assessment of the mainstream activity - access to mountain hiking provided by the landscapes was carried out and two touristic routes with very high potential to deliver this service were identified. The results of the study are directed towards the responsible parties in support of the natural heritage conservation in Rila National Park through sustainable management the potential to provide cultural (recreational) ecosystem services. The research was conducted within the scientific programme of the project “Conceptualization, Flexible Methodology, and a Pilot Geospatial Platform for Access of the Bulgarian Natural Heritage to the European Digital Single Market of Knowledge and Information Services” within the project BG05M2OP001-1.001-0001 Establishment and Development of “Heritage BG” Centre of Excellence (Operational Program “Science and Education for Intelligent Growth”, priority Axis 1 “Research and technological development”).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayan Saha ◽  
Sharif A. Mukul

Abstract The valuation of natural ecosystems helps policymakers in allocate adequate resources for the provision of ecosystem services they provide. Cultural ecosystem services are the non-material benefits we obtain from nature, which include but are not limited to recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, physical and mental health benefits. They are essential for a proper sense of a place, human health, and wellbeing. We quantified the recreational and other non-material benefits of Lawachara National Park (LNP), one of the oldest and most diverse forest protected area and touristic attractions in northeast Bangladesh. A Modified Travel Cost Method (MTCM) was applied for quantifying the recreational and other non-material values of LNP. Altogether 309 respondents were interviewed, covering both peak season and slack season. In our MTCM, we considered several additional factors, unlike the commonly used Travel Cost Method (TCM). The value of cultural ecosystem services of LNP was estimated to be Taka 1 476.70 million and Taka 476.44 million per annum using MTCM and TCM, respectively. The value estimated using MTCM was marginally higher than the value estimated using TCM and was due to the additional variables we considered in our modified approach. We believe our estimates using MTCM will guide policymakers to properly value natural ecosystems and facilitate adequate resource allocation for ecotourism in LNP and elsewhere.


Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Wai Soe Zin ◽  
Aya Suzuki ◽  
Kelvin S.-H. Peh ◽  
Alexandros Gasparatos

Protected areas offer diverse ecosystem services, including cultural services related to recreation, which contribute manifold to human wellbeing and the economy. However, multiple pressures from other human activities often compromise ecosystem service delivery from protected areas. It is thus fundamental for effective management to understand the recreational values and visitor behaviors in such areas. This paper undertakes a rapid assessment of the economic value of cultural ecosystem services related to recreation in a national park in Myanmar using two valuation techniques, the individual travel cost method (TCM) and the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA v.1.2). We focus on the Popa Mountain National Park, a protected area visited by approximately 800,000 domestic and 25,000 international tourists annually. Individual TCM estimates that each domestic visitor spent USD 20–24 per trip, and the total annual recreational value contributed by these visitors was estimated at USD 16.1–19.6 million (USD 916–1111 ha−1). TESSA estimated the annual recreational expenditure from domestic and international visitors at USD 15.1 million (USD 858 ha−1) and USD 5.04 million (USD 286 ha−1), respectively. Both methods may be employed as practical approaches to assess the recreational values of protected areas (and other land uses with recreational value), and they have rather complementary approaches. We recommend that both techniques be combined into a single survey protocol.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 81-87
Author(s):  
Mariyana Nikolova ◽  
Velimira Stoyanova ◽  
Desislava Varadzhakova ◽  
Aleksandra Ravnachka

The rich and diverse Natural Heritage of Bulgaria is a prerequisite for the development of nature- based tourism (NBT) of a new type. The research is carried out by the implementation of the ecosystem approach. The results include an assessment of the natural heritage capacity to provide goods and services for the development of NBT in the Tourist Regions (TR) of Bulgaria. The results show the spatial distribution of the natural heritage sites in all nine TR in Bulgaria and their natural capacity for development of different types of NBT. There are only 37 municipalities out of 265 with not a one Natural Heritage (NH) site, and all the rest have natural resources to develop NBT. The results can be of use for the achievement of the goals for sustainable tourism by assessment of the capacity to provide recreation ecosystem services (RES).


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 61-66
Author(s):  
Miglena Zhiyanski ◽  
Maria Glushkova ◽  
Yonko Dodev ◽  
Mariam Bozhilova ◽  
Rositsa Yaneva ◽  
...  

The paper focuses on the role of the Natural Heritage in Forest Areas (NHFA) as a resource that can generate economic, social and environmental benefits for society through the provision of a wide range of cultural ecosystem services. In the assessment of the role of NHFA, the approach for assessment and mapping of ES in a given territorial scope was applied in a pilot region of Velingrad Municipality, focusing on the capacity of the forest ecosystems to provide cultural ecosystem benefits and services to the people. The study confirms that the identification of NHFA could be a powerful driver for regional development by creating significant positive effects such as improving sustainable cultural tourism in forests, diversifying forestry and supporting sustainable development and management of forest areas. The integration of the cultural services of NHFA into forest-related legislation can encourage job creation in different sectors and for different levels of employment, education and cultural training. Evaluation and mapping of ecosystem services is an appropriate tool to support the development of a concept and methods for assessing and mapping the general knowledge framework for NHFA policy in Bulgaria by applying an interdisciplinary approach.


Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Kubalíková

The concept of ecosystem services developed in the second half of the 20th century, and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was crucial for its acceptance. This assessment identified the services that ecosystems provide to society, but geodiversity (as an indispensable component of ecosystems) was somewhat underestimated. At present, geodiversity is intensively used by human society and it provides numerous services including cultural as a resource for tourism, recreation, as a part of natural heritage, and to satisfy matters of spiritual importance. The main purpose of this paper is to present the geocultural issues of Stránská skála (a limestone cliff with caves and an anthropogenic underground) in Brno (Czech Republic) and to evaluate the cultural ecosystem services of geodiversity by using the abiotic ecosystem services approach. This assessment of cultural ecosystem services of the Stránská skála enables the identification and description of the functions and services which are provided by geodiversity and confirms the high cultural and geoheritage value of the site.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 67-80
Author(s):  
Mariyana Nikolova ◽  
Peter Nojarov ◽  
Stoyan Nedkov

The area of the Seven Rila Lakes is situated in the North-West part of the Rila Mountain at an altitude between 2100 and 2500 m a.s.l. within the borders of Rila National Park. There are 140 glacial lakes in Rila Mountain but the area of the Seven Rila Lakes is the most visited and famous with its natural beauty and sacred significance. It is a valuable part of the national natural heritage. The popularity of this area grows constantly with the number of visitors from the country and abroad. This process leads to the deterioration of the natural conditions in the site. At the same time, it is not clear what is the effect of climate change on the environment in the lake’s area. There are many factors that contribute to the degradation of ecosystems in the protected area of the Seven Rila Lakes and pose risk to this valuable natural heritage. These factors are natural (mainly climate change-related), anthropogenic (associated with the excessive tourist pressures on the ecosystems in the protected area), and management (stemming from the ongoing conservation policy over the years). This study explores to what extent climate change may put at risk the ecosystems of Seven Rila Lakes. Mean monthly data from The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA5-Land reanalysis were used in this study. The resolution of these data is 0.1 x 0.1 (9 x 9 km) and their period is 1981-2020. Reanalysis data include air temperature, precipitation, evaporation, snow depth, etc. Based on data from various sources such as reanalysis data, in situ measurements, and statistical modeling, a scenario, based on current trends in different climatic elements, has been developed in order to project future changes and their impact on lake ecosystems. The results of the modelling of climate change show that in the coming decades an increase in temperature is expected in the high mountain regions of South-western Bulgaria and in particular in the Seven Rila Lakes area. This, combined with the ever-increasing flow of tourists, and high demand for the provided cultural ecosystem services, and insufficient management practices, put at risk the state of the lakes and their capacity to provide the same quality of cultural ecosystem services in the future, which attracts tourists in the area now. Recommendations have been made for the optimization of the management of the protected area in accordance with the observed trends.


2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Jaworski ◽  
Dorota Jakubowska

Dynamika zmian budowy, struktury i składu gatunkowego drzewostanów o charakterze pierwotnym na wybranych powierzchniach w Pienińskim Parku Narodowym


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