The impact of tourism and conservation on agriculture in the mountains of Valcea county, Romania

Abstract

Valcea is one of Romania's Wallachian counties with landscapes which grade from the Carpathians through the Subcarpathians and Piedmont zone towards the plain. Agriculture plays a major role in the economy but there is also a long-established tourist industry and the industrial base (largely bound up originally with wood processing) has been enlarged and diversified under communism. Environmental pressures on sensitive Carpathian ecosystems have increased over the years through agricultural, industrial and tourist pressures. Under the transition conservation measures will have to include national park designation to provide a buffer for clusters of nature reserves which already exist. The paper discusses the nature of the environmental problems and the significance of national parks for the agriculture of the area, with particular reference to the Parang Mountains.