Search

AbstractPark visitors are increasingly gravitating toward peer-to-peer sources of information on social media to prepare for their visit to nature parks. This has significant implications for park safety and management. The current study utilizes the Theory of Consumer Values and Crompton’s Push and Pull Theory as the theoretical lens. This research presents a thematic analysis of 19 interviews with participants who visited a nature park in Western Australia and engaged with social media communities to seek park-related information in the past 12 months. Six themes were identified related to the motivators and barriers for park visitors to seek park-related information from social media communities. They are: (1) destination planning and activities information; (2) access to real-time information; (3) source credibility; (4) social interactions and influences; (5) entertainment; (6) novelty. The findings provide significant managerial insights for park agencies and managers to optimize their social media communication of park-related information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating population trends provides valuable information for conservation biologists. Although there are many methods for estimating demographic rates, capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods are known to be the most realistic method that can provide detailed data on individuals and populations, including the achievement of conservation goals. This study focused on determining the population trend of Pelophylax bedriagae caralitanus, Beyşehir frog using the CMR method in a protected area during the 2011-2019 breeding seasons. Our CMR data led to the selection of model-considering constant survival rates, capture/recapture probabilities, and year-specific immigration/emigration patterns [Φ(··) y'(t) y"(t) p(··) = c(··) N(t)]-as the most fitting biological hypothesis among 22 constructed models. According to the best-fitted model, 6% of all individuals in Gölcük population can be captured during each sampling occasion. The annual survival rates show low variation between years, and the mean survival rate was estimated as 0.85, that means 85% of the individuals of Pelophylax bedriagae caralitanus in the Gölcük population were able to live on to subsequent breeding seasons. The average population size of Gölcük population for nine consecutive years was estimated as 5094 (range 4834-5382) individuals that shows minor and acceptable levels of population size fluctuations, and slightly increasing over the years. These findings can guide future research, aiding in assessing population size changes in both protected and nonprotected areas while understanding population decline trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the 19th century industrial revolution, people were squeezed into big cities as a result of intensified work life and population growth. This congestion has negatively affected individuals mentally and physically. As a result of this negative impact, the interest of individuals in outdoor recreation activities has increased and the interest in national parks and nature parks has increased. Today, these areas are visited by many people for recreational or touristic activities. In this context, recreational activities in these areas are gradually developing, diversifying and occupying an important place in recreational or touristic activities. As a result of this situation, it becomes very important to protect the existing natural areas and to use them in a sustainable manner for the benefit of the society. In this context, our research was conducted to evaluate the sportive recreation potential of Poyrazlar Lake Nature Park in Sakarya. The sportive recreation potential evaluation method developed by Gülez' in 1990 and modeled by Çalık in 2006 was used as a method in the research. (SRD) Sportive Recreation Value, (P) Landscape Value, (I) Climate, (U) Accessibility and (OSE) Negative Factors were used as criteria in the evaluation of the lake area. At the end of the research; the natural resource values of Poyrazlar Lake Nature Park and the outdoor sportive recreation value in the forest were found to be 77%. In the light of this result, the suitability of the natural resources of Poyrazlar Lake for sportive use is as follows: Hiking, Mountain Biking, Canoeing, Paintball, ATV-Safari, Bird Watching, Sport Fishing and Photography are seen as the most compatible outdoor sportive recreation activities with the structure of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and visions for sustainability education apply to many methods, they can be hard to put into practice. This study aims to concern an undergraduate geography course designed not only to teach geographical methods but also to engage with the multi-scalar nature of the SDGs and apply them to various local urban sustainability issues in a real-world context. Design/methodology/approach: By means of a mixed-method approach, the authors examine a fieldwork course that invites students into learning situations in which they combine critical thinking with entrepreneurial solutions to local sustainability challenges. The authors examine the learning material from the students' cases and explore the geographical knowledge the students' practise. Findings: Fieldwork helps students contextualise the multi-scalar nature of the SDGs and thereby apply them to analyses in a local context. Students learn first-hand how their planning proposals can be seen as counterproductive by some local stakeholders while remaining attractive to others. Originality/value: Student tasks are developed in collaboration with a local municipality and students present their findings to local politicians and stakeholders. Presenting and localising the SDGs within a local community not only encourages students to undertake a local community analysis but also provides new perspectives to local stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature parks are protected natural areas whose purposes are the protection and conservation of landscapes in which the interaction of human activities with nature over time has created a distinct area, with significant landscape and/or cultural value, often with great biological diversity. This is the case of Apuseni Nature Park, which includes a significant karst terrain and is a very important tourist destination. In this article, we examine the attitude of local people towards the protected area with the help of a questionnaire composed of 32 questions. After the general questions, the economic situation was examined first. Then the respondents had to evaluate the values and the difficulties of their region and their relation to tourism. The answers reveal that they are aware of the importance of tourism, which may represent a serious complementary income for them. The most intriguing questions were some open-ended questions, which focused on the relationship of locals to Apuseni Nature Park. Based on the answers, we can conclude that the negative opinions slightly dominate. The dissatisfaction of the locals, the feeling of limitations due to the park are expressed in many different ways. But probably the most relevant problems can be linked to the rules and laws. As it is a nature park, people in fact, live inside the park, thus, the equilibrium between their lives and the purposes of the park should be approached. The administration of the nature park should involve local people more closely in decision-making, and maybe certain rules should be changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas play a key role in nature conservation but are also crucial for tourism. There are international recommendations in nature conservation (IUCN), and several international conservation conventions exist. Nevertheless, the protection categories are different in each country, and the proportion of protected areas also varies. Here we compare the nature conservation systems of some countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Croatia) taking into consideration their nature protection laws. The selection of countries is based on an international project dealing with "Karst and National Parks". For the comparison, national data sources and an international database (WDPA) are used. Our results show that the protection categories of the studied countries are largely similar, but there are unique characteristics as well (such as "forest park", "monument of park architecture" in Croatia; "nature conservation area" in Hungary or "protected landscape element" in Slovakia, etc.). On the other hand, the internal proportions of protection categories are more heterogeneous, like, for example, the proportion of national parks within all protected areas which is 57.0 percent in Hungary but 11 percent in Croatia. International protection categories (Natura 2000, Ramsar, UNESCO World Heritage natural sites, UNESCO MAB reserves) are more or less similarly present in the countries studied (except Serbia, where there are no Natura 2000 areas yet). If national categories and Natura 2000 sites are all taken into consideration (and the overlapping areas are counted only once), then Croatia has the highest proportion of protected areas (39.1%), Slovakia is in second place with 37.5 percent, while Romania (23.5%) and Hungary (22.0%) show a similar proportion, and with the lack of Natura 2000, Serbia has 9.1 percent at present. As for the reliability of the WDPA, we found that this varies from country to country, with significant deficiencies for certain countries (e.g. Serbia) and very good reliability for others (e.g. Hungary, Slovakia). However, the availability of WDPA is in many cases better than that of national data, and since it also provides GIS data, it can be considered a useful tool for examining international trends and mapping protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the research is the application of GIS in geoecological evaluation of terrain -- case study Nature Park Hutovo blato. Geoecological evaluation of terrain is strongly relevant methodological procedure, which can be used for acquiring results about real value of particular areas. Method of terrain evaluation is also used, through five categories: hypsometric characteristics, angle of slopes, vertical dissection, terrain mobility and vegetation cover. The aim of the research is to clarify how valuable and useful certain segments of the terrain are for the purpose of spatial planning -- for the tourism valorization, construction of various objects etc. Paper consists of several parts. First part defines the exact area of exploration. In the second part geomorphological characteristics of the researched area were analyzed. Geoecological evaluation of terrain, performed in third part was based on previous geomorphological analysis as well as bonity categories. Methods used in this paper are: analysis, synthesis, statistical method and cartographic method. Complete analysis was conducted using GIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial planning is a vital process for a rapid and successful development of projects related to wetland management, and thereby projects related to tourism. Tourist activities could provide a boost to the development of general understanding of wetlands and raise public awareness of the functions and the ecosystem services wetlands provide. The tourism economy could be a source of income and could provide employment opportunities in rural areas. However, tourists also have an impact on wetlands. Protected areas accessible to tourists require a comprehensive management. In order to ensure a harmonious relationship between tourism activities and environmental protection, when developing an urban design within a protected area, it is crucial to have a sensitive approach. The paper suggests an approach to the development of the Urban Design "Karaotok", within the Hutovo Blato Nature Park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research examines the development of the mountainous region of Belasitsa in the years after 2000 and its transformation of being an inaccessible territory at the time of the Iron Curtain, to a fast-growing destination for sustainable tourism. In order to draw particular conclusions and formulate recommendations, the Belasitsa Nature Park Management Plan was used which was approved on 24.02.2016. As a result, potential threats from rapid development have been identified and concrete steps have been proposed to overcome them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism recently continues to increase its importance by contributions to cultural and economic fields. Considering portion of tourism sector in economy, many countries accelerate their works trying to establish tourist attraction points by natural regions they have. By owning unique flora and fauna diversity, nature parks start to be the most attracting regions nowadays. For better protection of the rare natural beauties, it is necessary to make them either nature park or nature protection area. Chance to see many wonders of nature all together in one place turns nature parks into tourist attractions. Kuzalan Nature Park, which is under protection, is a region having rich tourism potential for Giresun province located in East Black Sea Region. The nature park, located in Kuzalan neighborhood, Alancık Village, Dereli District, is in 45 km distance from Giresun province and 13 km distance from Dereli district center. The most important feature of this naturally and culturally attracting nature park is that it is placed in an area owning travertines reminding Pamukkale, waterfalls, historical wooden mill, longose forest, monument trees, mineral water, cave, walking path in forest, rich fauna and flora inside. This nature park with quite high tourism potential has a great significance as it brings all hard-to-find beauties together in 482 hectares. In this study, the nature park is tried to be presented to make it a daily recreational and touristic destination where activities like cave tourism, health tourism, cultural tourism, bird observation are carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report aims to present the content aspects of marketing of the Strandzha Nature Park as an ecotourism destination. It formulates a vision for the development of ecological tourism in the Strandzha Nature Park. The report distinguishes the possible target segments of the Park, based on four synthetic features of market segmentation: motivation, family life cycle stage, length of stay in the park and the preferred means of accommodation. It presents the content of the four basic elements of the strategic marketing mix of the Strandzha Nature Park - product range, pricing policy, distribution and communication. The proposed segment-oriented product range of the Park includes three major product lines and nine specific tourism products. Differentiated prices of the specific packages of the segment profiled tourism products (tourism routes) in the destination are recommended to be set and offered. The creation of an extensive national and international network of distribution channels is being worked out for the effective implementation of the market product range in the Strandzha Nature Park. The report formulates the substantive elements of the communications mix of the Strandzha Nature Park with the aim of promoting the protected area as an attractive tourism destination for both the domestic and international tourism markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasingly stressful daily working environment, the need for outdoor recreation is more evident, especially for the urban population. The importance of protected areas is constantly growing, particularly because of an increasing interest in recreational zones inside the cities as well as on their outskirts. These areas can be observed from two points of view, as a part of natural heritage and as popular recreational zones. In order to preserve them for future generations, it is necessary to implement a concept of sustainable development in their management. The purpose of this research is to give scientific contribution to the recreational use of protected areas in the city surroundings. Medvednica Nature Park has been selected as a case study considering it represents a popular recreational area of the Zagreb urban agglomeration. The following research objectives have been singled out: identification of the recreational offer, recreational offer attendance assessment, analysis of recreational mobility features, analysis of visitors' attitudes regarding the recreational offer, defining attitudes of relevant institutional representatives regarding the recreational offer and suggesting guidelines for the future development of the recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Result of the first ozone monitoring in ambient air Nature Park of KopaCki Rit (Eastern Croatia) are reported for the growth season in 2008. The measured hourly concentrations of ozone in the air do not exceed the limit value of 110 μg m-3 statutory regulation by Croatian legalization for the protection of human health. There were only 13 days exceeding of the target value of 120 μg m-3(8-h averages) as established in the European Union guidelines on ozone pollution in ambient air. In contrast to the measured AOT40 whose value does not exceed the critical level of 18 000 (μg m-3). h for vegetation injury, an estimated AOT40 value was somewhat higher. The relationships between O3 and meteorological variables were investigated by a principal component analysis (PCA). Fourier analysis methods applied to ozone concentrations data showed that the most important variations in the O3 data are represented by usual daily cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]