Nature in Common. Beyond the Nagoya Protocol

The Nagoya Protocol is a major international agreement for global biodiversity governance and was meant to put an end to the uncompensated exploitation of natural resources and knowledge in the Global South. Its objectives were to ensure greater justice and equity between providers and users of genetic resources, raise the profile of the contributions and knowledge of indigenous and local communities, and decolonise research, while promoting the conservation of biodiversity. Thirty years after the Convention on Biological Diversity from which it originated, the authors examine the legal and practical manifestations of this virtuous framework, which entered into force in 2014. While it has fostered recognition of the plural nature of knowledge and helped to establish traceability of resources, it has also contributed to imposing a commercial vision of nature and knowledge, exacerbating identity politics, and making access to biodiversity more complex in an era of globalised research. This book presents an interdisciplinary dialogue based on feedback from researchers and conservation stakeholders (local communities, managers of collections and natural parks). Looking beyond the Nagoya Protocol, it invites us to question the relationships between societies and nature in light of the ecological emergency. It is intended for anyone with an interest in the economics of biodiversity and environmental justice.

The Perceived Value and Future Behavioral Intentions in Ecotourism: A Study in the Mediterranean Natural Parks from Spain

Ecotourism is becoming increasingly important in natural parks because it raises the value of the environment for the visitor. The present study aimed to (i) establish the factors of the perceived value in ecotourism and (ii) analyze the predictive relationships of the dimensions of the perceived value with the satisfaction and loyalty of ecotourists. The study was carried out in the Albufera Natural Park and the Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park, two protected areas in the Mediterranean area of Spain. The sample collected in situ consisted of 349 valid questionnaires. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multiple regression techniques were performed for data analysis. The results established three dimensions in the perceived value: functional and emotional, economic, and social, being the “functional and emotional” value the most significant predictor of satisfaction and loyalty of ecotourists. The findings will allow institutions to have a management guide for protected areas.

Assessing landscape features and ecosystem services of marine protected areas through photographs on social media: comparison of two archipelagos in Spain

Marine protected areas provide cultural services including the aesthetic appreciation of the landscape and the performance of recreational activities. In this study, we use the photographs shared by users in a digital repository to describe the distinctive characteristics of two terrestrial-maritime natural parks in Spain. In total, 1041 photos and 2342 tags generated by 76 users were analyzed. The results show the greatest salience of the landscape values, followed by historical monuments and the sighting of fauna and flora. The methodology based on the extraction of digital data from Flickr facilitates the efficient comparison of a Mediterranean archipelago (Cabrera Island) with an Atlantic archipelago (Cíes Islands). However, some important limitations were also detected in the descriptive capacity of this method, in comparison with the content analysis by external observers. But, overall, the evaluation of the subjective experience of visitors to natural areas can be very useful for tourism management of the marine environment.

Bryoflora of protected landscape gardens of the city of Voronezh

The bryoflora of protected landscape gardens of regional and local significance includes 45 species, whichis more than 80 % of the bryoflora of urban ecosystems of Voronezh; 14 species grow in natural parks, about 40 speciesgrow in natural monuments, 20 species – in landscape gardens of local significance; 2 species from the Red Book of theVoronezh Region are marked as part of the brifolora; the Arboretum of the Voronezh Agrarian University, the Arboretumof the Voronezh Forestry University, the Severny Square, the Central Park of the City of Voronezh, the Patriots Park, andthe Scarlet Sails Park have the greatest environmental value.

Mammals of the Natural National Park Selva de Florencia, Caldas, Colombia

The Department of Caldas, Central Andes of Colombia, has two National Natural Parks protecting strategic Andean ecosystems. However, the available information on mammals in these protected areas has not been compiled or updated recently. Here, we present an updated inventory of the mammals present in the Selva de Florencia National Natural Park. To construct the inventory, we used historical (museum vouchers) and recent records obtained during field activities over the last 20 years. We used several trapping methods including Sherman and Tomahawk traps, mist nets, and camera traps. We documented 81 mammal species belonging to nine orders, 25 families and 59 genera. Bats (Chiroptera: 30 spp.), rodents (Rodentia: 17 spp.), and carnivores (Carnivora: 13 spp.) were the most diverse groups, representing 73.2 % of recorded species. We also recorded orders such as Didelphimorphia (8 species), Primates (5), Pilosa (3), Artiodactyla (2), Cingulata (2), and Eulipotyphla (1). Also, we recorded two endemic species (Marmosops chucha and Cryptotis colombianus) and two new species for the Department of Caldas (Bassaricyon neblina and Heteromys aff. anomalus). These species constitute elements of the Andean region and the Nor-Andean and Chocó-Magdalena biogeographic provinces. We highlight the presence of four endangered primates (Aotus lemurinus, Ateles hybridus, Cebus versicolor, and Saguinus leucopus), two of which are endemic to Colombia: S. leucopus and C. versicolor. This work is the baseline to update the management plan of the protected area, from the review of its conservation targets, the definition of the specific management goals, to its effective monitoring.

A More Sustainable Management of Domestic Tourists in Protected Natural Parks: A New Trend in Sport Tourism after the Covid-19 Pandemic?

One of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has been the development of proximity tourism in outdoor spaces being less conducive to the spread of the virus. From a study preceding this pandemic, this article seeks to better understand the experiences lived by domestic tourists from when they visited two typical protected natural parks as specific experiential contexts (extraordinary versus ordinary) providing different experiences. Each experiential context enables the distinction of actual visitors’ experiences inside each park—education, esthetics, entertainment, escapism, physical activity—differentiated, on one hand by the visitors’ participation axis and, on the other hand, by the absorption-immersion axis influencing the visitors’ arousal and memory. A structural equation model tested the data collected (n = 1000) in both experiential contexts and shows their moderator effect. The results underline the link between the experiential context and the actual experiences and highlight the interest of a new global framework including the visitors’ participation and a bodily axis relative to the specific context. This research could help managers of protected natural parks adjust their domestic tourists’ experience offer during pandemic crises by implementing specific sustainable and sanitary strategies.

CITIZEN-GENERATED GEODATA FOR NATURAL PARKS USE ANALYSIS: INSIGHTS FROM FACEBOOK IN THE INSUBRIA REGION

Green areas such as natural parks provide citizens with a number of health and leisure benefits, often accessible with a few minutes of travel from urban centres. Moreover, the natural heritage enclosed in most green areas plays a pivotal role also in the economic integrity of these territories by driving local growth thanks to the establishment of tourism activities. In this context, the monitoring of both visitors and dwellers fluxes, as well as destination preferences, is key to provide land managers with critical information to shape local management and promotion strategies. This paper presents a preliminary investigation on the use of citizen-generated geodata -provided by Facebook- to empower the generation of space- and time-resolved insights into people fluxes in natural parks through a comparison with neighbouring urbanized areas. The Insubria region, a historical-geographical area between Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland, is considered a case study. Facebook users’ population and movements data are analysed to identify trends and metrics on fluxes and support the estimation of the recreational and tourism value of natural parks. Results are presented as graphs and summary statistics and discussed according to their possible integration into territorial management and promotional practices.