Karst Management in Apuseni Nature Park, Romania
Session Type
Plenary Session: Sustainbility and Community
Start Date
18-8-2020 10:30 AM
Description
Apuseni Mountains are a mostly forest covered mountainous area rich in exokarst and endokarst landforms. At present, 760 km2 of the mountains are under the protection of Apuseni Nature Park (IUCN Category V). There are more than 1500 caves in the area. They are classified according to their scientific values, national or local importance, but in certain cases access to the caves is not in agreement with their classification or scientific importance. The caves located in the park are not open to the public, some of them can be visited with a special permit. There are four show caves (Bear’s cave, Scărișoara cave, Vârtop cave, Poarta lui Ionele cave). Their management is organized in different ways. These caves are popular tourist targets and we analyze visitor numbers statistics to present their significance and timely changes. Problems related to cave management are waste disposal near the caves (in sinkholes), damage in caves and occasional accidents due to irresponsible cave tourists (not in show caves). Besides caves, gorges and collapse sinkholes are also popular karst-based tourist targets in the Park. Recently, paved roads were improved in the area, which helps tourism, but it also increases the environmental burden. The complex impact of tourism is evaluated in this study. While tourism is rather concentrated to the popular destinations, forestry and to a smaller extent, tradition-al farming still have a significant areal impact on the karst landscapes. We have to mention that more than 10000 inhabitants live in 55 settlements inside the Park.
Recommended Citation
Imecs,, Zoltán Presenter, "Karst Management in Apuseni Nature Park, Romania" (2020). Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources Proceedings. 12.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/con_karst_res_proc/con_karst_pro_2020/day_one/12
Karst Management in Apuseni Nature Park, Romania
Apuseni Mountains are a mostly forest covered mountainous area rich in exokarst and endokarst landforms. At present, 760 km2 of the mountains are under the protection of Apuseni Nature Park (IUCN Category V). There are more than 1500 caves in the area. They are classified according to their scientific values, national or local importance, but in certain cases access to the caves is not in agreement with their classification or scientific importance. The caves located in the park are not open to the public, some of them can be visited with a special permit. There are four show caves (Bear’s cave, Scărișoara cave, Vârtop cave, Poarta lui Ionele cave). Their management is organized in different ways. These caves are popular tourist targets and we analyze visitor numbers statistics to present their significance and timely changes. Problems related to cave management are waste disposal near the caves (in sinkholes), damage in caves and occasional accidents due to irresponsible cave tourists (not in show caves). Besides caves, gorges and collapse sinkholes are also popular karst-based tourist targets in the Park. Recently, paved roads were improved in the area, which helps tourism, but it also increases the environmental burden. The complex impact of tourism is evaluated in this study. While tourism is rather concentrated to the popular destinations, forestry and to a smaller extent, tradition-al farming still have a significant areal impact on the karst landscapes. We have to mention that more than 10000 inhabitants live in 55 settlements inside the Park.
Comments
This presentation was part of the Plenary Session: Sustainability and Community. Sustainability and Community Mangers and researchers from across the globe shared perspectives on the strengths and challenges to man-aging karst resources and the UNESCO programs de-signed to protect these environments. Topics covered a broad spectrum including collaborative management, efficacy of UNESCO protected area designations in safeguarding cave and karst geogheritage, geotourism roles and potentials, public perception, use of tradi-tional knowledge to guide karst management, and ge-oeducational and geotouristic opportunities offered by speleological activities.