Karstic National Parks’ Roles and Potentials – Views and Opinions from Tara National Park, Serbia
Session Type
Plenary Session: Sustainbility and Community
Start Date
18-8-2020 10:15 AM
Description
Karst terrains are often protected as national parks (NP) thanks to their spectacular landforms and biological features. These areas are often relatively rarely inhabited, which contributes to the preservation of all forms of natural heritage. Considering the national parks, the general (simplified) question is, whom they should serve: the protection of nature, the well-being (and education) of tourists or the benefit of local people. Naturally, all of these goals are important, but sometimes contradictory. The above question arises more specifically, when the area of the NP has been inhabited for centuries, but depopulation and ageing are the dominant processes today. The above facts are valid for Tara NP – our case study area, established in 1981 in western Serbia. The area is a typical medium mountain continental karst with doline dotted karst plateaus. Its most significant landmarks are gorges, whereas caves are small, vertical and not suitable for tourism. The biological values (endemic species, large bear population) were also crucial in the foundation of the NP. During its 38-year long history, the social-political context (socialism, war, market economy) has been widely varied, which had an impact on the operation and goals of the NP. In our study, we conducted a questionnaire survey asking local people, tourists, NP employees and managers, as well as external experts, about how they perceive the advantages and drawbacks of Tara NP. The systematized results are intended to contribute to solving the management issues in the nature–tourism–community triangle.
Recommended Citation
Telbisz,, Tamás Presenter, "Karstic National Parks’ Roles and Potentials – Views and Opinions from Tara National Park, Serbia" (2020). Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources Proceedings. 13.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/con_karst_res_proc/con_karst_pro_2020/day_one/13
Karstic National Parks’ Roles and Potentials – Views and Opinions from Tara National Park, Serbia
Karst terrains are often protected as national parks (NP) thanks to their spectacular landforms and biological features. These areas are often relatively rarely inhabited, which contributes to the preservation of all forms of natural heritage. Considering the national parks, the general (simplified) question is, whom they should serve: the protection of nature, the well-being (and education) of tourists or the benefit of local people. Naturally, all of these goals are important, but sometimes contradictory. The above question arises more specifically, when the area of the NP has been inhabited for centuries, but depopulation and ageing are the dominant processes today. The above facts are valid for Tara NP – our case study area, established in 1981 in western Serbia. The area is a typical medium mountain continental karst with doline dotted karst plateaus. Its most significant landmarks are gorges, whereas caves are small, vertical and not suitable for tourism. The biological values (endemic species, large bear population) were also crucial in the foundation of the NP. During its 38-year long history, the social-political context (socialism, war, market economy) has been widely varied, which had an impact on the operation and goals of the NP. In our study, we conducted a questionnaire survey asking local people, tourists, NP employees and managers, as well as external experts, about how they perceive the advantages and drawbacks of Tara NP. The systematized results are intended to contribute to solving the management issues in the nature–tourism–community triangle.
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.