National Parks—Areas of Economic Development or Stagnation? Evidence from Poland

Bernadetta Zawilińska,Karol Majewski,Marcin Semczuk,Patrycja Brańka

doi:10.3390/su132011351

Bernadetta Zawilińska, Karol Majewski + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011351

Copy DOI

Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Oct 14, 2021
Citations: 6	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Krakow University of Economics

Abstract

An increasingly popular approach to protected areas as places that should combine natural and socioeconomic goals, poses questions regarding the effects of achieving such goals, particularly in the context of generating local economic benefits. Therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows: (1) determining the level and diversity of the socioeconomic development of communes with national parks as compared with neighboring communes that are not protected because of national parks (treating them as a point of reference for comparisons), and (2) presenting the level of tourism development in communes with national parks as compared with neighboring areas and other components of socioeconomic development. The achievement of the research objectives is based on the use of 28 indicators which, following the standardization process, allow for constructing a synthetic index (Composite Development Index-CDI) that shows development disparities in the two analyzed groups of communes. The results indicate that communes with national parks are characterized by a slightly higher level of general development as compared with other communes and a considerably higher level of tourism development. However, it should be noted that the adopted indicators differ considerably in both groups of communes.

Highlights

IntroductionIn the face of increasing climate changes, a rapid deterioration in biodiversity, as well as the on-going urbanization processes and the decreasing share of areas not managed and transformed by man, more attention is being given to the development of protected areas and their role in the conservation and sustainable development of the earth [1,2]
The highest level of socioeconomic development is recorded in communes with national parks in the close vicinity of the largest cities—Kampinoski NP, Ojcowski NP, Wielkopolski NP, as well as communes with unique natural values—Tatrzański
In the context of the research goals of this work and its hypotheses, it should be noted that communes with national parks in the entire territory of the country are characterized by a higher level of socioeconomic development than neighboring areas as well as a higher level of tourism development

Summary

Introduction

In the face of increasing climate changes, a rapid deterioration in biodiversity, as well as the on-going urbanization processes and the decreasing share of areas not managed and transformed by man, more attention is being given to the development of protected areas and their role in the conservation and sustainable development of the earth [1,2]. The functioning of protected areas is considered key to maintain life on our planet and preserve biodiversity [3,4,5]. The share of such areas in the total areas of countries and regions is a commonly used indicator of sustainable development [6,7]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion