eco.mont – Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management, Vol. 16 / No. 2
No.:
16
Year of the volume:
2024
Issue:
2
“eco.mont – Journal of Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management” was founded as a joint initiative of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Innsbruck. “eco.mont” offers a platform specifically for scientists and practitioners working in and on protected mountain areas in Europe and overseas. Target audiences of the journal are scientists from all related disciplines, managers of protected areas and an interested public including practitioners, visitors, teachers, etc. “eco.mont” is available by open access under CC BY-NC-ND-Licence from the Austrian Academy Press and in a printed version from Innsbruck University Press. Alpine protected areas play a key role in biodiversity conservation, but also in monitoring species and habitats. Since its first issue, eco.mont has published articles on long-term monitoring programmes in different areas of the Alps.
The current issue covers a wide range of topics concerning protected areas globally. Geographically, the articles cover protected areas in the Alps, mountains in Galicia in Spain, the Dinaric mountains of Serbia, the Himalayas and the Rocky Mountains. The subjects discussed are perceptions of mountain ecosystem services in the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve in Serbia, a possible enhancement of the Bavarian Alpenplan in Germany regarding the adaptation to climate change and the prevention of natural hazards, a Natura 2000 network in the mountains of Galicia in Spain, visitor sentiment concerning changes in backcountry permit allocation at the Glacier National Park in the Rocky Mountains, the conservation efforts of the Siling Co National Nature Reserve on the Tibetan Plateau in China and an introduction into the research framework of the Austrian’s National Parks.
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Perceptions of mountain ecosystem services in Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, Serbia: latent transformation from sustainable towards regenerative tourism
Regenerative tourism is a new approach that seeks to establish and foster a symbi-otic relationship between humans and nature based on the use of nature’s ecosys-tem services (ESs) for people’s improved quality of life and general wellbeing while promoting human contributions to the natural environment for the benefit of all. This research focuses on ESs as indicators of latent tendencies in the transformation from sustainable to regenerative tourism. The research was conducted in two cycles over a period of 11 years. The Participatory Rural Appraisal method (PRA) was used to gather information and local stakeholders’ views concerning Serbia’s Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve. Ninety-nine tourists were also interviewed face-to-face regarding their interests and demands. The research method included a Relative Frequency Citation index (RFC), which identified the ESs that respondents considered most important. The local stakeholders were unanimous in accentuating the impor-tance of providing ESs that bring economic value, while tourists focused more on regulating or supporting cultural services. Our research methodology may serve as a benchmark for studies in other mountain tourism destinations and communities that are investigating developments towards regenerative tourism.
Keywords: mountain ecosystem services, local stakeholders, tourist perceptions, regenerative tourism, sustainability
Milica Luković - Marija Kostić - Branislav Dudić - Velibor Spalević - Danijela Pantović
Page 4 - 15 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s4
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Developing a data-driven approach to climate-proof a regional spatial planning instrument: the Bavarian Alpenplan
This article develops a data-driven methodological analysis for the enhancement of a regional spatial planning instru-ment, the Alpenplan in the German federal state of Bavaria, regarding adaptation to climate change and the preven-tion of natural hazards. The approach considers six criteria related to climate risk: water retention potential of soils, extreme flood risk, forests for protection of soil and against avalanches, avalanche risk, landslide susceptibility, and climatic compensation areas. We computed a GIS-based overlay analysis for the Bavarian Alps to determine multifunc-tional areas of exceptional importance for future-proofing against climate change. It is recommended that their protec-tion level should be upgraded to Alpenplan Zone C. As a Nature-based Solution for climate change adaptation, the recommendations are discussed in the context of spatial planning in the Alps more widely and in other mountain areas.
Keywords: climate change adaptation, spatial planning, natural hazards, open space, nature-based solutions, green infrastructure
Constantin Meyer - Hubert Job
Page 16 - 29 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s16
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Visitor sentiment concerning changes in backcountry permit allocation at Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
As visitation to parks and protected areas in the USA continues to increase, many federal land management agencies have implemented visitor use limits within their respective management areas to protect the environment while also providing for visitor enjoyment. The rationing of use has become a complex task, with managers having to balance system efficiency with equality and equity concerns on numerous levels. Rationing systems such as lotteries, reservations, first-come first-served and pricing mechanisms have all been used in different contexts, with trade-offs existing within each of these systems. In February 2023, Glacier National Park (Montana, USA) proposed to transition their online backcountry permitting system from a manually-administered lottery to a non-lottery reservation system. This study uses the theory of distributive justice to deductively code public comments related to the pro-posed transition in order to determine how a sample of the public perceives changes in rationing, and how their comments are distributed amongst competing social goals. Many of these comments contain nuance, adding to a wide array of senti-ments that will provide managers with a public perspective on this multifaceted issue.
Keywords: rationing, distributive justice, allocation, use limits, content analysis
Kelsey E. Philips - William L. Rice
Page 30 - 37 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s30
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“The local population is not aware” of nature conservation: implementing and managing the Natura 2000 network in a mountainous area of Galicia, Spain
The Natura 2000 Network (N2000N) is the main conservation instrument of the Eu-ropean Union. Its implementation for the whole EU territory in the last 30 years has largely been carried out top-down, combining the local level poorly. The Queixa and San Mamede mountain ranges, located in south-eastern Galicia, have been pro-posed as a single natural park since at least the 1970s, although political inactivity and lack of interest in conservation by the local population have made this difficult to achieve. However, most of this mountain area has been designated as N2000N ter-ritory. This article demonstrates that the designation took place in a non-transparent manner and without public participation. As a consequence, our analysis questions the legitimacy of the Galician N2000N areas. The article addresses N2000N man-agement and academic criticism in this respect. Finally, we recommend involvement of the local population in the future, as the only way to guarantee effective conserva-tion and improve perceptions of the N2000N at local level. The analysis presented here is relevant for the future of this and other mountainous areas belonging to the network.
Keywords: protected natural areas, nature conservation, Natura 2000 Network, mountain, local participation
Manuel Rodríguez Rodríguez - Valerià Paül
Page 38 - 46 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s38
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Threats to, and conservation of, biodiversity in the Siling Co National Nature Reserve, Tibetan Plateau, China
Due to its unique climate and geographic location, Siling Co National Nature Reserve, located in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, is an important natural habitat, a hotspot of endemism, and sustains numerous endan-gered species. Climate change and warming temperatures, invasion by non-native species and human disturbance are serious threats to the Tibetan Plateau’s local biodiversity and specialized ecosystems. To better protect biodiversity and ecosys-tem functions in the specialized endemic habitats of the Plateau, we summarize the status, threats and protective conservation measures in the Reserve. It is hoped that this study will provide useful information and strategies for biodiversity conservation for the Tibetan Plateau and other highland regions.
Keywords: Tibetan Plateau, biodiversity conservation, endangered species, wetlands, Siling Co
Baoqiang Wang - Kang Chen - Ren Zhu
Page 47 - 52 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s47
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The research framework of Austria’s National Parks
Austria’s National Parks are home to large parts of the country’s biodiversity. While following regional research interests, the National Parks are committed to a joint vision and research strategy. Experienced staff address scientific questions by conducting their own research, commissioning research or working on collaborative projects. Research-ers and students are encouraged to capitalize on available long-term data and to aim for an extraordinary level of scientific outreach.
Keywords: protected area, National Park, Austria, field research
Alexander Maringer - Katharina Aichhorn - Gudrun Bruckner - Arno Cimadom - Julian Haider - Elisabeth Hainzer - Florian Jurgeit - Wolfram Lechner
Page 53 - 60 | doi: https://doi.org/10.1553/eco.mont-16-2s53
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Edition:
978-3-7001-9702-7, eJournal, PDF, limited accessibility , 24.06.2024
Pages:
61 Pages
Images:
numerous colour images, maps, charts, figures
Language:
English
DOI (Link to Online Edition):