National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective

The article is addressing the problem of local authorities seeing in national parks a stimulus or a barrier for local development in Poland. The results of surveys conducted among representatives of authorities of selected municipalities (n=61), in which there are national park areas show that the a...

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Main Authors: Bernadetta Zawilińska, Mirosław Mika
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Bucharest 2013-05-01
Series:Human Geographies: Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography
Subjects:
Online Access:http://humangeographies.org.ro/articles/71/7_1_13_4_mika.pdf
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author Bernadetta Zawilińska
Mirosław Mika
author_facet Bernadetta Zawilińska
Mirosław Mika
author_sort Bernadetta Zawilińska
collection DOAJ
description The article is addressing the problem of local authorities seeing in national parks a stimulus or a barrier for local development in Poland. The results of surveys conducted among representatives of authorities of selected municipalities (n=61), in which there are national park areas show that the assessment of the role and impact of this type of protected areas varies. In most cases the presence of national parks is viewed positively. Emphasis is put on their importance to the local socio-economic development. The economic benefit is seen mainly in the tourism sector and the development of associated services. However, local communities experience many restrictions resulting from functioning of protected areas, especially in regard to the possibility of increasing revenues to the budgets of municipalities, production entrepreneurship development and intensification of agricultural production and fisheries. It is believed that in the future parks should stimulate local development to a larger extent. To achieve this, it is necessary to see a national park as a system linked to the socio-economic environment and to take planning actions based on a holistic look at natural, social and economic issues of a national park and its neighbourhood. The cooperation between local authorities, parks’ management, non-governmental organisations and local tourism business should be strengthened as well as steps should be taken in order to increase social participation in shaping the development of these areas.
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spelling doaj.art-f3c9e18f12c6406aae4efed102269f672022-12-22T01:25:37ZengUniversity of BucharestHuman Geographies: Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography1843-65872067-22842013-05-0171435210.5719/hgeo.2013.71.43National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspectiveBernadetta Zawilińska 0Mirosław Mika1Cracow University of Economics, Department of Regional Economy, PolandJagiellonian University, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, PolandThe article is addressing the problem of local authorities seeing in national parks a stimulus or a barrier for local development in Poland. The results of surveys conducted among representatives of authorities of selected municipalities (n=61), in which there are national park areas show that the assessment of the role and impact of this type of protected areas varies. In most cases the presence of national parks is viewed positively. Emphasis is put on their importance to the local socio-economic development. The economic benefit is seen mainly in the tourism sector and the development of associated services. However, local communities experience many restrictions resulting from functioning of protected areas, especially in regard to the possibility of increasing revenues to the budgets of municipalities, production entrepreneurship development and intensification of agricultural production and fisheries. It is believed that in the future parks should stimulate local development to a larger extent. To achieve this, it is necessary to see a national park as a system linked to the socio-economic environment and to take planning actions based on a holistic look at natural, social and economic issues of a national park and its neighbourhood. The cooperation between local authorities, parks’ management, non-governmental organisations and local tourism business should be strengthened as well as steps should be taken in order to increase social participation in shaping the development of these areas.http://humangeographies.org.ro/articles/71/7_1_13_4_mika.pdfEconomic impactLocal developmentNational parksPolandTourism development
spellingShingle Bernadetta Zawilińska
Mirosław Mika
National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
Human Geographies: Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography
Economic impact
Local development
National parks
Poland
Tourism development
title National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
title_full National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
title_fullStr National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
title_full_unstemmed National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
title_short National parks and local development in Poland: A municipal perspective
title_sort national parks and local development in poland a municipal perspective
topic Economic impact
Local development
National parks
Poland
Tourism development
url http://humangeographies.org.ro/articles/71/7_1_13_4_mika.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT bernadettazawilinska nationalparksandlocaldevelopmentinpolandamunicipalperspective
AT mirosławmika nationalparksandlocaldevelopmentinpolandamunicipalperspective