Norms for Behavior and Conditions in Two National Park Campgrounds in Korea

/ This study was conducted to examine norm prevalence, norm agreement, and norm stability in an international setting. Data were collected at two campgrounds in Chiri-Mountain National Park, Korea, in 1993 and 1994. Results showed that a high proportion of users could specify norms for various types of campground impacts. Users who rated high importance on impacts tended to show a higher level of norm prevalence. Generally there were differences in social norms and norm agreement across locations. Among those impacts that showed differences, social norms in a less developed area were more restrictive and norm agreement was higher. The results of this study are consistent with normative studies conducted in North America, suggesting that a normative approach can be applied in a variety of settings. Social norms for selected impact indicators were also stable over a one-year time period. Implications are discussed.KEY WORDS: Norms; Norm prevalence; Norm agreement; Norm stability     

Legal considerations in challenging external threats to Glacier National Park,Montana, USA

External threats to the environmental integrity of Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, fit into three categories: adverse land use practices adjacent to the Park, air pollution, and water pollution. This article identifies and evaluates the laws that Glacier National Park officials might rely upon to protect the Park against these external threats. The article also assesses the available scientific information relating to external threats, and it identifies additional information needed to establish a legal basis for challenging the threats.     

Visitor perceptions of rural landscapes: a case study in the Peak District National Park, England

Maintaining national parks is an integral policy tool to conserve rare habitats. However, because national parks are funded by taxpayers, they must also serve the needs of the general public. Increasingly, and thanks to today's diverse society, there is evidence that this creates challenges for park managers who are pulled in two opposing directions: to conserve nature on the one hand and to meet different visitor expectations on the other. This tension was explored in the Peak District National Park, a rural landscape dominated by heather moorland and sheep farming in Northern England where research was conducted to determine how social class and ethnicity shaped perceptions of the park. Results uncovered that social class played a very strong role in shaping perceptions of this region with 'middle class' respondents reacting far more favourably to the park than people from more working class backgrounds. We observed ethnicity playing a similar role, though our results are less significantly different.     

National parks south of the border

This paper appraises, in the context of the current debate concerning national parks for Scotland, factors that may have contributed to the achievement of national park purposes in England and Wales. Voluntary support, presumptions and resources are seen as crucial to the achievement of those purposes; while the few extra powers available to the national park authorities and the plan making process are seen to be of some importance. In contrast, it is argued that the much‐debated nature of the administrative authority has had little effect on the extent to which park purposes are achieved.     

A Combined Park Management Framework Based on Regulatory and Behavioral Strategies: Use of Visitors' Knowledge to Assess Effectiveness

In light of the increasing mandate for greater efficiency in conservation of natural reserves such as national parks, the present study suggests educational approaches as a tool to achieve conservation purposes. Currently, the management of human–wildlife interactions is dominated by regulatory strategies, but considerable potential exists for environmental education to enhance knowledge in the short run and to prompt attitude change in the long run. A framework for conservation based on both traditional regulatory- and behavior-oriented strategies was proposed whereby the level of knowledge that park visitors have acquired comprises an obvious outcome and establishes a basis upon which the effectiveness of regulatory- and behavior-based regimes could be assessed. The perceptions regarding park-related issues of two distinct visitor groups (locals and nonlocals) are summarized from a survey undertaken in Vikos-Aoos national park. The findings suggest a superficial knowledge for certain concepts but little profound understanding of the content of such concepts, indicating that knowledge-raising efforts should go a long way towards establishing a positive attitude for the resource. Visitors' poor knowledge of the park's operation regulation contest the efficiency of the presently dominant regulatory management regime. While geographical distances did not appear to significantly differentiate knowledge between the two groups, wilderness experience (as certified by visits to other parks) was proved to be an impetus for generating substantial learner interest in critical park issues among nonlocal visitors. School education and media were found to be significant knowledge providers.     

Effect of public opinion on national park planning in Turkey: A case study

National park plans are mainly prepared by a central planning team of the National Parks of Turkey. In this article, a model is presented that proposes a different approach to preparing national park plans. The study is based on a questionnaire distributed among the residents of the villages just outside a selected national park in Turkey and the relevant local and general authorities who are interested in the national park in their region, to find out the effect of public opinion on national park planning. Four basic strategies that represent the four main alternative approaches to forming policies in the planning of the park were identified. Respondents were asked to choose one and to suggest their own ideas. As this is a first attempt of such a study in Turkey, the results of the survey have been very encouraging. Therefore, this paper suggests that the assessment of public opinion should be borne in mind throughout the planning process in Turkey.     

Trends in Global Protected Area Governance,1992–2002

Governance refers to the interactions among structures, processes, and traditions that determine direction, how power is exercised, and how the views of citizens or stakeholders are incorporated into decision-making. Governance is now recognized as a critical aspect of effective conservation and is a prominent part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s work program on protected areas. This study reports on a global survey to assess changes in governance of protected area systems between 1992 and 2002 based on responses from 41 countries. Results indicate that substantial changes have taken place with overall trends towards increased participation of more stakeholders, greater use of formal accountability mechanisms, and a wider range of participatory techniques. Many of these changes are supported by legislative and policy requirements and 75% of respondents reported changes in legislation over the past decade. Protected areas are becoming more influenced by global forces. A majority of respondents reported increased involvement of the private sector. Funding is coming from a broader range of sources, with a smaller proportion of income coming from government sources in 2002. Absolute funding amounts have increased, but almost two-thirds report that budgets fall short of requirements. Almost 90% of respondents felt that protected area governance had improved over the last decade; 67% felt that this had also led to improved management effectiveness. Respondents felt that secure funding, capacity building, and increased community involvement were the main governance needs for the future.     

Improving Operational Planning and Management of National Parks in Turkey: A Case Study

The purpose this study was to improve operational planning and management of national parks in Turkey to balance conservation use and sustainable management. Souksu National Park (SNP) was chosen as the study area. The data were obtained from interviews of 182 visitor groups (in total, 819 people) and analyzed using correlation, factor, discriminant, and regression analyses. It was found that the most important factors affecting operational planning and management of SNP are (1) travel cost, (2) visitor welfare level, (3) intensity of use, (4) size of visitor group, (5) type of recreational demand. The main source of visitors to SNP is from a zone within a 0–90-km radius. This region comprised 53.85% of total visitors to the park. The capital of Turkey (Ankara) is the most important source of visitors from within this zone. The optimum activity mix in SNP is also determined. Picnicking, viewing the scenery, and nature walks or trekking comprised the main uses of the park. It is anticipated that these findings will help to improve operational planning and sustainable management of the national park and the environment.     

Toward Sustainable Management of National Parks in Japan: Securing Local Community and Stakeholder Participation

Japan’s national park system constitutes a potentially viable mechanism for securing local community participation and building stakeholder consensus for sustainable park management, although the potential of this system is yet to be fully maximized. This article gives an overview of the system of protecting natural resources in Japan, focusing on the national park system. Parks are managed by zoning and regulation, which is unique in that land is not “set aside” for nature conservation, but designated as national park wherever the need to preserve “scenic beauty” has been recognized, regardless of land ownership or land use. Although resource conservation under this system has been problematic, it has advantages, especially in terms of community participation. This article demonstrates that in order to reach the system’s potential, the park authority must act as coordinator of stakeholders and facilitator of bottom-up approaches to decision-making. In order to do this, steps that must be taken include the following: identifying the various stakeholders in park management and defining the “local community”; clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder; and supporting consensus-building among stakeholders regarding the objectives and long-term vision of each park. By taking these steps, it would be possible to build a park management system that overrides government boundaries and involves local communities. This will enable the park authority to address the challenges facing Japan’s complex system of conserving natural resources, and move towards sustainable management of natural resources in Japan.     

Changes in interacting species with disturbance

Human-influenced changes in the diversity and abundance of native wildlife in a southern boreal forest area, which became a national park in 1975, are used to develop working hypotheses for predicting and subsequently measuring the effects of disturbance or restoration programs on groups of interacting species. Changes from presettlement conditions began with early 1900 hunting, which eliminated woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus) and elk (Cervus elaphus), and reduced moose (Alces alces) to the low numbers which still persist. Increases in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), as these other cervid species became less abundant or absent, provided enough alternative food to sustain the system's carnivores until plant succession on previously burned or logged areas also caused deer to decline. With increased competition for reduced food, carnivore species also became less abundant or absent and overexploited some prey populations. The abilities of interacting species to maintain dynamically stable populations or persist varied with their different capacities to compensate for increased exploitation or competition. These relationships suggested a possible solution to the problem of predicting the stability of populations in disturbed systems. For the 1976–1985 period, a hypothesis that the increased protection of wildlife from exploitation in a national park would restore a more diverse, abundant, and productive fauna had to be rejected.     

Characteristics of winter backcountry use in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Numerous backcountry and wilderness use studies have been conducted over the last decade, but nearly all of them have concentrated on peak season and summer use. This study investigates use patterns and user characteristics of winter campers, and implications for the management of winter backcountry overnight use. Use pattern data were collected from 580 backcountry use permits for both winter and summer campers of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). A two-page questionnaire was also mailed to 300 of the winter users to survey their characteristics, past backpacking experience, and reasons for winter camping. Backcountry permit data indicate that use patterns differ significantly between winter and summer campers, with winter campers taking shorter, weekend, destination-type trips. Winter campers engage in backcountry camping nearly twice as often during winter as other seasons of the year, both in and outside GSMNP. They are also experienced hikers that tend to avoid camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park during the summer because of heavy visitor use. This suggests that winter backcountry campers are different enough from peak season campers that management of these two user groups may require different styles.     

阿尔金山自然保护区地表水水化学现状调查与评价

结合2011年阿尔金山保护区水文地质科学考察工作,在对保护区地表水水系、水体类型及特征进行调查分析的基础上,采集了主要地表水体类型的水化学样本,对各样本中的阴阳离子含量、矿化度、pH等水化学指标进行了测试,分析了保护区主要地表水类型的水化学现状特征及其空间变化规律,并与历史调查资料进行了对比分析,探讨了近30年保护区地表水水化学特征发生的变化及主要原因。     

Accountability,Reporting, or Management Improvement? Development of a State of the Parks Assessment System in New South Wales,Australia

Management effectiveness evaluation has been recognized as an important mechanism for both reporting on and improving protected area management. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s program of work on protected areas calls on all countries to implement such systems. In 2004, the first whole of system assessment of park management effectiveness, based on the IUCN-WCPA Management Effectiveness Evaluation Framework, was undertaken in New South Wales, Australia as part of a State of the Parks reporting requirement. This article describes the development of the State of the Parks assessment tool, its elements, and how it addresses the management effectiveness difficulties associated with assessments conducted across an extensive and diverse range of park types. The importance of engaging staff, at all levels, throughout the process is highlighted, as well as the adjustments made to the assessment tool based on staff feedback. While some results are presented, the main purpose of the article is to identify and discuss important procedural and methodological considerations. These include balancing quantitative and qualitative assessment approaches, achieving a comprehensive understanding of the management processes, and responding to any problems associated with assessments.     

Management concerns for swimming,tubing, and wading in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Recreational use of streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has increased remarkably during recent years. To better manage the stream resource for visitor needs and at the same time preserve it for future generations, a user study was initiated in 1978. Use patterns, both spatial and temporal, and possible accompanying ecological impacts at three streams were investigated. Sampling was conducted at several sites per stream. The findings indicated that use was concentrated during afternoons and at certain streams and study sites. In addition, different types of users partitioned the streams according to stream morphology (form or structure of pools, riffles, etc.). Major impacts observed were soil compaction and erosion along the streambanks and physical disturbance of the stream bottoms by moving and placing stones to construct dams and raceways.     

传统消费模式视角的生态消费模式特征研究

通过对工业文明下传统消费模式的分析,发现该模式具有任意性、单一性、耗竭性、无度性、损害性的特征。生态消费模式与传统消费模式之间具有显著差异。透过传统消费模式可以发现,生态消费模式具有责任性、协调性、持续性、适度性、保护性的特征。     

Is love of nature in the US becoming love of electronic media? 16-year downtrend in national park visits explained by watching movies,playing video games,internet use,and oil prices

After 50 years of steady increase, per capita visits to US national parks have declined since 1988. This decline, coincident with the rise in electronic entertainment media, may represent a shift in recreation choices with broader implications for the value placed on biodiversity conservation and environmentally responsible behavior. We compared the decline in per capita visits with a set of indicators representing alternate recreation choices and constraints. The Spearman correlation analyses found this decline in NPV to be significantly negatively correlated with several electronic entertainment indicators: hours of television, (rs=-0.743, P<0.001), video games (rs=-0.773, P<0.001), home movies (rs=-0.788, P<0.001), theatre attendance (rs=-0.587, P<0.025) and internet use (rs=-0.783, P<0.001). There were also significant negative correlations with oil prices (rs=-0.547, P<0.025), foreign travel (rs=-0.452, P<0.05), and Appalachian Trail hikers (rs=-0.785, P<0.001). Income was significantly positively correlated with foreign travel (rs=0.621, P<0.005) but negatively correlated with national park visits (rs=-0.697, P<0.005). There was no significant correlation of mean number of vacation days, indicating available vacation time is probably not a factor. Federal funding actually increased during this period, and so was rejected as a probable factor. Park capacity was rejected as limiting since both total overnight stays and visits at the seven most popular parks rose well into the mid-1990s. Aging of baby boomers was also rejected as they are only now reaching retirement age, and thus during the period of visitation decline were still of prime family vacation age. Multiple linear regression of four of the entertainment media variables as well as oil prices explains 97.5% of this recent decline (r=0.975, multiple r2=0.950, adjusted multiple r2=0.925, SE=0.015, F=37.800, P<0.0001). We may be seeing evidence of a fundamental shift away from people's appreciation of nature (biophilia, Wilson 1984) to 'videophilia,' which we here define as "the new human tendency to focus on sedentary activities involving electronic media." Such a shift would not bode well for the future of biodiversity conservation.     

Education and advice contribute to increased density of broadleaved conservation trees, but not saplings, in young forest in Sweden

The effectiveness of different conservation policies is debated, but the policies are rarely evaluated quantitatively. A voluntary or 'soft' policy based mainly on education provides information about ecosystems and effects of land use, to encourage conservation action. Swedish forestry relies mainly on soft policy, with substantial resources for education and advice to more than 200,000 forest owners, while legal regulation is weak. Increased retention of broadleaved trees at clear-cutting, with environmental benefits in the conifer-dominated forestry, is important in the policy. We used the Swedish National Forest Inventory to analyse this policy for young forests in southern Sweden. Between 1983-1987 and 1998-2002 the policy had no positive effect on saplings (1.3m tall to 4.9 cm dbh) of birch, oak, beech and other species that mostly decreased in density, due to planting of conifers and browsing by ungulates. However, broadleaved conservation trees (>or=15 cm dbh) increased in density, e.g. to about one oak and six birches per ha in young coniferous forest in 1998-2002. The relative increase in density was higher for large (>or=20 cm dbh) than for small trees (15-20 cm dbh). The density of conservation trees was higher on forestland of high than of low productivity. Thus, the soft conservation policy did not influence regeneration of saplings in this type of forestry system, but large broadleaved trees were increasingly saved at 'clear-cuttings'. Advice and educational programmes probably contributed to this result. A continued increase in conservation trees at harvest may require economical support to forest owners.     

Mapping Land-Cover and Mangrove Structures with Remote Sensing Techniques: A Contribution to a Synoptic GIS in Support of Coastal Management in North Brazil

This article deals with the development and application of a cartographic database for a synoptic Geographic Information System (GIS). Its purpose is the storage and evaluation of the heterogeneous datasets of the interdisciplinary scientific research program MADAM (Mangrove Dynamics and Management), which aims to develop recommendations for a tailored integrated coastal management scheme for the mangrove ecosystem at Bragança (North Brazil). The article describes the integration of remote sensing data, aerial photographs, as well as point data provided by fieldwork from different scientific fields. Using various innovative processing techniques and different scale-resolution levels, an assessment of temporal–spatial changes of the mangrove peninsula and the adjacent rural socioeconomic impact area, the type of mangrove structure, as well as a land-use cover analyses was undertaken. The definition of the spatial level of detail was found to be a major issue in the development of the GIS, as well as during the processing and analysis procedures. A division between strong and weak patterns in the mangrove ecosystem could be made, which implies different management measures and sets of specific interdisciplinary studies and monitoring at hierarchical scales.     

An Assessment of Road Impacts on Wildlife Populations in U.S. National Parks

Current United States National Park Service (NPS) management is challenged to balance visitor use with the environmental and social consequences of automobile use. Wildlife populations in national parks are increasingly vulnerable to road impacts. Other than isolated reports on the incidence of road-related mortality, there is little knowledge of how roads might affect wildlife populations throughout the national park system. Researchers at the Western Transportation Institute synthesized information obtained from a system-wide survey of resource managers to assess the magnitude of their concerns on the impacts of roads on park wildlife. The results characterize current conditions and help identify wildlife-transportation conflicts. A total of 196 national park management units (NPS units) were contacted and 106 responded to our questionnaire. Park resource managers responded that over half of the NPS units’ existing transportation systems were at or above capacity, with traffic volumes currently high or very high in one quarter of them and traffic expected to increase in the majority of units. Data is not generally collected systematically on road-related mortality to wildlife, yet nearly half of the respondents believed road-caused mortality significantly affected wildlife populations. Over one-half believed habitat fragmentation was affecting wildlife populations. Despite these expressed concerns, only 36% of the NPS units used some form of mitigation method to reduce road impacts on wildlife. Nearly half of the respondents expect that these impacts would only worsen in the next five years. Our results underscore the importance for a more systematic approach to address wildlife-roadway conflicts for a situation that is expected to increase in the next five to ten years.