Η παρούσα μελέτη εκπονήθηκε κατά την διάρκεια των ετών 2004-2006. Περιλάμβανε έρευνα πεδίου με συλλογή δειγμάτων ξεκινώντας από την περιοχή των Καλαβρύτων έως το Διακοπτό τόσο κατά μήκος του φαραγγιού, όσο και κατά μήκος του επαρχιακού δρόμου που συνδέει τα Καλάβρυτα με το Διακοπτό όπου αυτός αποτελεί τμήμα του φαραγγιού καθώς και σε σημεία που εμφανίζουν χλωριδικό ενδιαφέρον. Η περιοχή η οποία έχει ιδιαίτερο χλωριδικό και οικοτουριστικό ενδιαφέρον δεδομένου ότι είναι προσβάσιμη σχετικά εύκολα σε σχέση με τα άλλα σημεία του φαραγγιού, εντοπίζεται στην περιοχή Μεγάλου Σπηλαίου – Ζαχλωρού (B1, B2, C1, C3). Συνολικά καταγράφηκαν 651 taxa (604 είδη και 47 υποείδη) κατά την περίοδο 2004-2006, εκ των οποίων τα 323 taxa (303 είδη και 20 υποείδη) είναι νέες καταγραφές σε σύγκριση με τις βιβλιογραφικές αναφορές και τις σχετικές δημοσιεύσεις που αφορούν το φαράγγι του Βουραϊκού (Halacsy Vol 1, 2, 3 και Κουτσόπουλος Π. & Σαρλής Γ). Από τα 651 taxa που αναφέρονται για τα 38 δεν έχω συλλεχθέν δείγμα. Τα 32 αναφέρονται στον Halacsy και τα 6 στην δημοσιεύση των Κουτσόπουλου Π. & Σαρλή Γ. Πρέπει να σημειωθεί ότι δύο από τα 323 νέα είδη, το Vicia sp και το Muscari ? sp., παρουσιάζουν ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον και απαιτείται για τον πλήρη προσδιορισμό τους περαιτέρω έρευνα - συλλογή δειγμάτων. Οι οικογένειες με τον μεγαλύτερο αριθμό taxa (≥20) είναι οι Compositae: 80, Fabaceae: 69, Poaceae: 50, Lamiaceae: 46, Apiaceae: 31, Brassicaceae,: 31 Caryophyllaceae: 25, Liliaceae: 22. Πάνω από το χωριό Ζαχλωρού στα κάθετα κροκαλοπαγή αλλά και στα ασβεστολιθικά βράχια του φαραγγιού,αξιοσημείωτη είναι η παρουσία του, ενδημικού είδους Aurinia moreana, το οποίο συνήθως αναπτύσσεται στα βουνά της Β. Πελοποννήσου μαζί με πολλά άλλα ενδημικά taxa όπως τα παρακάτω: Silene conglomeratica, Gymnospermium altaicum subsp peloponnesiacum, Reseda tymphaea, Cicer graecum, Peucedanum achaicum, Galium peloponnesiacum, Teucrium halacsyanum, Ophrys xdiakoptensis, Onobrychis ebenoides, Achillea umbellatα ssp monocephala, Silene congesta ssp moreana, Onosma erecta ssp malickyi, Asperula lutea, Asperula arcadiensis, Campanula rupestris, κ.α. Ιδιαίτερα τα δύο τελευταία taxa αναπτύσσονται μαζί με το taxon Odontites linkii ssp linkii σε πολλά σημεία κατά μήκος του φαραγγιού και στα κάθετα τοιχώματά του. 136 Σε ανοίγματα της υποβαθμισμένης μακκία και ανάμεσα στα φρύγανα μέσα στο φαράγγι και στο ύψος του Μεγάλου Σπηλαίου κατηφορίζοντας το μονοπάτι προς την Ζαχλωρού αναπτύσσεται ένας πολύ καλός πληθυσμός του Ελληνικού ενδημικού είδους Stachys parolinii. Την περίοδο του Φθινοπώρου μπορεί κανείς να συναντήσει στα μέσα και κατώτερα σημεία του φαραγγιού δύο ακόμη εντυπωσιακά Ελληνικά ενδημικά φυτά το Petrorhagia graminea και το Colchicum peloponnesiacum. Στο βορειότερο τμήμα του φαραγγιού απαντάται αρκετά μεγάλο σε έκταση δάσος με Pinus halepensis. Στα ανοίγματα του δάσους απαντώνται τα: Onosma frutescens, Salvia triloba, Satureja graeca, Phlomis fruticosa, Cistus salviifolius, Euphorbia characias, Ptilostemon chamaepeuce και Hypericum empetrifolium, κ.λ.π. Σε μερικά σημεία παρεμβάλλεται μακκία βλάστηση με : Pistacia lentiscus, Pistacia terebinthus, Cercis siliquastrum, Arbutus unedo, Arbutus adrachne, κ.α. Ο χλωριδικός κατάλογος περιλαμβάνει επίσης περίπου 1.920 λεπτομερείς φωτογραφίες των δειγμάτων που συλλέχθησαν και ταυτοποιήθηκαν καθώς και πλούσιο φωτογραφικό υλικό σχετικό με τοπία, πανίδα και ρύπανση. / -

Natural protected areas (NPAs) are created for the protection of biodiversity and natural resources. In NPAs, diverse social constructions of nature come together, representing the specific and often contrasting values of disparate interest groups. The establishment of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, Mexico fueled social conflict between groups in the region, because its borders cut across existing ejidos (communal lands). The incongruence of policies and actions related to land management in Calakmul presents a particular case where national and international interests are imposed upon local conservation and development concerns. Communities have responded in multiple ways, often resisting new policies or programs, but at times taking advantage of new resources, perspectives, or knowledge. This study analyzes how the differing attitudes of local populations and conservation-oriented NGOs toward conservation, tourism, and towards each other affect how sustainable development activities are carried out within this unique social space.

This thesis focuses upon Clyde River Inuit knowledge, concerns, and attitudes to community tourism development and protected area establishment. The findings suggest that a cross-section of residents have a positive attitude toward community tourism development because it may provide local economic benefits. Residents also support the Igalirtuuq Conservation Proposal because it protects the endangered bowhead whale and its critical habitat, while at the same time stimulating tourism development. Clyde Inuit are reluctant to attribute social and environmental costs to these initiatives but are, nevertheless, able to point out some specific negative impacts that such projects might have on their village. Most felt that few problems would materialise as long as residents were intimately involved in all aspects of a controlled and gradual development. The study illustrates the importance of this type of community oriented approach in providing guidelines for tourism and conservation area development policy makers.

Marine tourism is an expanding segment of both international and domestic tourism in KwaZulu-Natal and can be of valuable contribution to the national and local economy, but there are also concern s about its sustainability. Two of the most popular marine activities in KwaZulu-Natal are diving and recreational fishing. However, these two different user groups can also create conflicts as they have very different user practices in relation to the same marine area and its resources. While certain marine regions along the coast have been declared marine protected areas with site specific management plans, other popular marine areas remain almost unmanaged. Shelly Beach on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is the most popular boat launching site on the Natal coastline with both divers and recreational fishermen visiting a fossilised sand dune reef called Protea Banks which is situated 7 to 8 km off-shore from Shelly Beach. The reef is famous for its abundance of fish as the attraction for fishermen and big sharks attracting divers. A controversial topic in association with Protea Banks is its shark population. The divers are concerned that the number of sharks is decreasing, while the fishermen are concerned about there being too many sharks eating their hooked fish before they can boat their catch. This study looks at marine tourism and sharks using Protea Banks as a case study for marine tourism and management. The focus is on stakeholders' and different marine user groups' opinions on management, marine resource protection and user conflict. The issue of sharks and sustainability in association with both diving and recreational fishing is also investigated. The study shows that the stakeholders have developed a system of self-regulation based on the experience gained from their utilisation of Protea Banks. The stakeholders prefer to maintain this system rath er than the authorities declaring the area a marine protected area or in other ways further involve the authorities. The various stakeholders express different but specific environmental concerns including carrying capaci ty, seasonality and unsustainable pressure during the peak tourist season, shark and fish management, and lack of enforcement of regulations. The study concludes with recommendations toward s a site specific management plan for Protea Banks. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This thesis provides an analysis of a community based conservation project in northern Kenya and also considers broader theoretical questions relating to the establishment of successful environmental partnerships. In East Africa, pastoralist communities are threatened by the erosion of their resource base, delicately balanced ecosystems are being progressively degraded, and the conflict between wildlife conservation and other forms of land use is escalating. The challenge faced by rural communities is to achieve socioeconomic growth in conjunction with environmental conservation and social stability. Integrated Conservation and Development Projects (ICDP's) and Ecotourism projects have been attempted in underdeveloped areas with the objective of enhancing biodiversity conservation through approaches which endeavour to address the needs, opportunities and constraints faced by rural communities. The hope is that communities will develop a vested interest in maintaining biodiversity (wildlife) on their land so as to sustain the income it generates. While some successes have been recorded, critical analysis by researchers suggests that a number of problems beset such projects and few have met their objectives. The case study examined here is both an ICDP and an Ecotourism project. It is a community based conservation effort on the communally owned II Ngwesi Group Ranch, in the Laikipia district, in semi-arid/arid Maasailand in northern Kenya. This area sustains important wildlife populations but as human population pressures increase the future of the permanent and migratory animals that occupy this land is in question. An initiative was undertaken in 1996 by the community in partnership with the neighbouring private ranch to build a lodge on the land and to start protecting an area for tourism use. The aim of this thesis is to examine the project as an example of an environmental partnership and consider what implications the partnership itself might have for future initiatives. The II Ngwesi project is categorised according to the environmental partnership theory, which assisted in describing some of its operating features and success factors. The thesis argues that, in thinking about how to achieve a working management of natural resources in similar contexts, careful consideration must be given to the nature of environmental partnerships that often constitute the basis of ICDP/ecotourism projects. These factors can be taken into account in developing more successful initiatives in the future. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Ecotourism is considered an effective agent to conserve environmentally fragile areas while bringing economic opportunities to local communities at the same time. In the past decades, empirical studies about ecotourism's conservation effects on wetland ecosystems attracted relatively less academic attention than rainforests and coral reefs. Florida, listed as one of the states with the greatest share of wetland loss in the U.S. due to rapid growth in agriculture, tourism, and urban development, has a small number of existing wetlands under the protection of the park and reserve system. To generate long-term positive environmental impacts, ecotourism stakeholders' contributions to planning and management activities could be an alternative beyond land use controls for conserving Florida wetlands. The major objective of this study is to explore the relationship between ecotourism and wetland conservation contributions which lead to long-term environmental sustainability. The study surveyed 97 nature-based tour operators in Florida on their activeness in a set of wetland planning and management behavior, the proportion of tourism revenue from ecotourism, and the perceived tourism benefits regarding economic, socio-cultural, and ecological aspects. Factor analysis was employed to identify indicators for the composite factors, such as the conservation contributions and incentives (i.e., economic benefits, socio-cultural benefits, and ecological benefits). The effects of ecotourism involvement and conservation incentives on tour operators' participation in wetland conservation practices were statistically modeled. The results demonstrated the business characteristics, degrees of the perceived tourism benefits, and frequency of participation in wetland conservation activities of responding tour operators. On average, tour operators were not as active in wetland management and planning approaches leading to the long-term environmental health as theories suggest they should be. Generally, the regression analysis results illustrated the significant association between ecotourism involvement and tour operators' conservation contribution. It is noteworthy that the effects of ecotourism involvement on tour operators' participation in environmental planning and water management processes were relatively important. In addition, the incentive of the perceived socio-cultural benefits was identified as the leading factor by regression analysis. The findings lent to the policy suggestions in expanding the incentives to drive major stakeholders' active engagement in wetland conservation planning and management, which is critical for collaborative and adaptive management.

With the growth ecotourism and of nature-based tourism, ecolodges are becoming more popular as an accommodation choice by tourists. There is currently no universal certification program ensuring service quality or environmental sustainability for ecolodges. Costa Rica is one of the few countries with a certification program in place that allows ecolodges to join by meeting certain standards. Visitors from three different certified ecolodges in Costa Rica were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking for demographic and trip characteristic information, with a section pertaining to their perception of importance and performance of 42 ecolodge attributes. The information was then applied to an Importance-Performance Analysis to gain a better understanding of how ecolodges are operating based on visitor feedback. The results from this thesis are then compared to the results of a similar study done by Kwan (2008) in Belize, where no certification exists for ecolodges. It is found that certified ecolodges received higher performance scores from their guests than uncertified ecolodges. It was also found that visitors place higher importance on more attributes when visiting a certified ecolodge, compared to uncertified ecolodges. This study also found that certified ecolodges are meeting the expectations of their clientele, by having higher performance scores than importance scores on 41 of 42 attributes. This thesis indicates that the presence of certification programs for ecolodges influences higher performance scores and can help ensure a successful future for this type of accommodation.

Ecotourism as sustainable travel to biodiversity-rich areas advocates the utilisation of modes with minimal impacts to the environment. Yet most often the modes available to the public and the transport network that serves the destination undermine its aims of sustainability. The research looks into the relationship between an ecotourism destination and the transport network that serves it. The objective of the study is to identify policies and structures that contribute to improve its sustainability. (For complete abstract open document)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2007. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Science and Engineering. Bibliography: leaves 257-287.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - James Cook University, 2003. / Typescript (photocopy). Bibliography: leaves [318]-342.