Do Protected Areas Matter? A Systematic Review of the Social and Ecological Impacts of the Establishment of Protected Areas

Estimating the ecotourism carrying capacity (ETCC) in protected areas (PAs) is essential for minimizing the negative impacts of ecotourism and sustainable environmental management. PAs are one of the prominent ecotourism locations and many of these areas have been created to protect biodiversity and improve human wellbeing. This study has identified and prioritized negative impacts of ecotourism in Lar national park, the Jajrud protected area with the sustainable use of natural resources, and Tangeh Vashi national natural monument. For this purpose, physical carrying capacity (PCC), real carrying capacity (RCC), and effective carrying capacity (ECC) were estimated using the ETCC model. The results indicated that due to these areas’ ecological sensitivity, the most negative impacts of ecotourism are related to the environmental-physical dimensions. In contrast, the lowest impacts have been observed in the economic-institutional dimensions. Moreover, the results revealed that the highest PCC is related to Lar national park, and the lowest PCC is associated with Tangeh Vashi natural monument. There are more tourists in the Jajrud protected area with the sustainable use of natural resources than other areas in RCC and ECC due to low levels of restrictions and legal instructions. In contrast, in Lar national park and Tangeh Vashi natural monument, due to the short duration of ecotourism in these areas (from June to October), high level of restrictions, and ecological sensitivity, the number of tourists is less than the RCC and ECC. As these areas have a limited ability to attract visitors and ecotourism, the protection of these areas requires the implementation of sustainable management to control the negative impacts of ecotourism and estimate the number of visitors.

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Ecotourism Carrying Capacity for Sustainable Development of Protected Areas in Iran

Sobhani

Esmaeilzadeh

Sadeghi

et al. 2022

“…Additionally, the greatest feature of this area is the large number of people living in protected areas. There are more than 1000 families and nearly 4000 people in the reserve [ 52 ]. Therefore, studying the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being in this region is appropriate and is an important reason for choosing this region ( Figure 2 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Well-Being of Farmers Using Ecological Awareness around Protected Areas: Evidence from Qinling Region, China

Qin

Zhang

et al. 2021

Self Cite

Sustainability of ecosystems is crucial for improving human well-being and sustainably developing human society. In recent years, global attention towards ecosystems and human well-being has been increasing. Exploring and understanding the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being, and establishing the well-being of residents while protecting the ecosystem have become urgent problems. Based on 618 valid samples collected from communities surrounding seven nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains region of China, this study analyzed the impact of ecosystem services on farmers’ well-being from the perspective of their subjective perception of ecosystem services by using multiple linear regression and seemingly unrelated regression methods. The main conclusions are as follows: supply of vegetation and clean water improves farmers’ well-being, improvement of air quality increases farmers’ life satisfaction, and the sense of belonging and tourism value brought by the ecosystem are important factors for farmers’ physical and mental pleasure and economic benefits. Therefore, the following countermeasures and suggestions are proposed: focusing on establishing the ecological well-being of farmers, improve implementation of the services and benefits provided by the ecosystem to farmers, increase publicity and education to improve the protection consciousness of farmers, and improve community participation mechanisms while mobilizing enthusiasm for protection. This article starts from the perspective of farmers’ perception, attempting to explore whether changes in ecosystem service functions will affect farmers’ well-being, so as to provide new opinions and suggestions for improving farmers’ well-being.

“…The modern approach to environmental protection is based on the concept of caring for valuable components of both animated and inanimate nature. Protected areas (PAs) are the most widely used tool of biodiversity conservation policy [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] that are becoming increasingly important, not only for the need to protect biodiversity but also because they are closely linked to the adaptation to climate change [ 4 , 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Farming as an Alternative Maintenance Strategy in the Opinion of Farmers from Natura 2000 Areas

Pawlewicz

Gotkiewicz

Brodzińska

et al. 2022

Agricultural land accounts for approximately 40% of the total Natura 2000 (N2K) network area. Therefore, many habitats and species protected under the Habitats and Birds Directives are dependent on or linked to agricultural practices. This implies that sustaining agriculture of a high natural value is a priority in achieving the aim of halting the loss of biodiversity in the European Union (EU). However, extensive agriculture is unprofitable in many regions of the EU, which results in it being either abandoned or intensified in the absence of financial support. Hence, organic farming (OF), which is most often supported with public funds, can be an alternative to conventional agriculture in N2K areas. This article is an empirical study of the differences in perceiving the possibilities of farm functioning in a protected area (PA) by organic and conventional farm owners. It was examined whether this could be the actual path to improving farmers’ living conditions in the context of legal protection of naturally valuable areas. The study material comprises the results of a survey conducted at the turn of 2016 and 2017, which addressed a total of 292 farmers, including 152 organic farm operators and 140 conventional farm operators, whose areas under cultivation were located within the N2K “Dolina Biebrzy” (“Biebrza Valley”) PLH200008 area in Poland. For the analysis of the data collected using structured questionnaires, a variety of statistical methods and techniques were applied. The study results indicated that in terms of satisfaction with the economic performance of their farms, there is no major difference between the opinions expressed by organic and conventional farm owners. However, organic farming could be an alternative livelihood strategy from the environmental policy perspective.