The Impact of COVID-19 on the Management of European Protected Areas and Policy Implications

Forests

CarmenCabrera Martel¹  PanayiotisG. Dimitrakopoulos²  Andreas Kontoleon³  James McGinlay³  Jens Holtvoeth³  Nikoleta Jones³  Vassilis Gkoumas³  Kerstin Botsch⁴  Carol Ritchie⁵  Teresa Pastor⁵  Kaja Lotman⁶  ConcepciónJ. Fagundo García⁷  RuymánFederico Armas Fuertes⁸  Elena Bazhenova⁹  Isabel Cervera^1,10  Holly Waterman^1,11  Alessandro Benzoni^1,12  Stefano Santi^1,12  Angela Jones^1,13  FranciscoSoriano Rico^1,14  CatiCarrillo Sánchez^1,14  Guillermo Chaminade^1,15  Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica^1,16  Majda Odar^1,17  Mojca Smolej^1,17  Juliana Doerstel^1,18  Michael Lammertz^1,18 

[1] Centro Administrativo del Parque Nacional y Parque Natural de Sierra Nevada, Carretera Antigua de Sierra Nevada km 7, 18191 Pinos Genil, Granada, Spain;Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81100 Mytilene, Greece;Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute & Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK;Department of National Park Planning, Regional Development and Tourism, National Park Black Forest, Schwarzwaldhochstraße 2, 77889 Seebach, Germany;EUROPARC Federation, Waffnergasse 6, 93047 Regensburg, Germany;Environmental Board of Estonia, 15172 Tallinn, Estonia;Garajonay National Park, Centro de Visitantes Juego de Bolas, La Palmita C.P., 38330 Agulo, La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain;Grupo Tragsa, Avenida Quinto Centenario, Edifico San José, Local 4, 38800 San Sebastián de La Gomera, La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain;Kullaberg Nature Reserve, County Administrative Board of Skåne, Italienska vägen 323, 26377 Mölle, Sweden;Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia Natural Park, Casa del Parque Natural Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia, Ctra/Las Batuecas, n° 22, 37624 La Alberca, Salamanca, Spain;Peak District National Park Authority, Aldern House, Bakewell DE45 1AE, UK;Prealpi Giulie Nature Park, Resia, Piazza del Tiglio 3, 33010 Resia, Italy;Snowdonia National Park Authority, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd LL48 6LF, UK;Subdirección General de Patrimonio Natural y Cambio Climático, Dirección General del Medio Natural, Consejería de Agua, Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Medio Ambiente, Región de Murcia, Plaza Juan XXIII, s/n. Desp. C1.10, 30008 Murcia, Spain;Söderåsen National Park, County Administrative Board of Skåne, Skäralid 747, 26453 Ljungbyhed, Sweden;Tatra National Par, Kuźnice 1, 34-500 Zakopane, Poland;Triglav National Park, Ljubljanska cesta 27, 4260 Bled, Slovenia;Wald und Holz NRW, Nationalparkforstamt Eifel, Fachgebiet Kommunikation und Naturerleben, Urftseestraße 34, 53937 Schleiden-Gemünd, Germany;

关键词: biodiversity conservation;    conflict;    national parks;    management;    pandemic;    public health;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f11111214

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many European countries imposing lockdown measures and limiting people’s movement during spring 2020. During the summer 2020, these strict lockdown measures were gradually lifted while in autumn 2020, local restrictions started to be re-introduced as a second wave emerged. After initial restrictions on visitors accessing many Nature Protected Areas (PAs) in Europe, management authorities have had to introduce measures so that all users can safely visit these protected landscapes. In this paper, we examine the challenges that emerged due to COVID-19 for PAs and their deeper causes. By considering the impact on and response of 14 popular European National and Nature Parks, we propose tentative longer-term solutions going beyond the current short-term measures that have been implemented. The most important challenges identified in our study were overcrowding, a new profile of visitors, problematic behavior, and conflicts between different user groups. A number of new measures have been introduced to tackle these challenges including information campaigns, traffic management, and establishing one-way systems on trail paths. However, measures to safeguard public health are often in conflict with other PA management measures aiming to minimize disturbance of wildlife and ecosystems. We highlight three areas in which management of PAs can learn from the experience of this pandemic: managing visitor numbers in order to avoid overcrowding through careful spatial planning, introducing educational campaigns, particularly targeting a new profile of visitors, and promoting sustainable tourism models, which do not rely on large visitor numbers.

【 授权许可】

Unknown