The diploma thesis deals with the development of sustainable tourism in protected areas. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the possibilities of sustainable tourism development in the protected area. The theoretical part of the thesis deals with the issue in general terms. The problem is practically solved on the example of Brdy Protected Landscape Area (PLA). An identification for localization and implementation conditions for the development of sustainable tourism has been realized within the analysis of the examined areas potential. This identification was conducted as an empirical investigation with the representatives of the interested municipalities, local action groups and other organizations. The acquired knowledge has been reviewed with the PLA representatives opinions. Summarizing all gained knowledge, the PLA Brdy has been assessed as area that fulfils the prerequisites for the sustainable tourism development. Due to the character of the area, the development must be implemented only in the environment friendly forms.

Les Aires Marines Protégées (AMPs) sont communément reconnues comme des outils de gestion durable du milieu marin, principalement destinés à la conservation de la biodiversité. L’évaluation de leur efficacité et de leur performance constitue, aujourd’hui, un champ de recherche en pleine expansion qui répond à une demande locale des gestionnaires, comme à une nécessité plus globale de rapportage (reporting) auprès des décideurs et bailleurs de fonds. Jusqu’ici, la plupart des recherches utilisent un angle d’analyse strictement biologique, laissant de côté l’étude des impacts socio-économiques. La réussite des AMPs repose pourtant sur trois piliers d’importance égale : la durabilité écologique, la faisabilité économique et l’acceptation sociale. Cette thèse s’intéresse aux impacts sociaux des AMPs et à la nécessité d’imaginer des outils pertinents permettant aux gestionnaires d’évaluer et de suivre l’acceptation sociale. Plus précisément, elle a pour objectif d’élaborer une méthode standardisée de suivi des dynamiques sociales au sein des AMPs, qui permette la construction d’indicateurs utiles pour la gestion locale comme pour le rapportage. A partir du cas de la Réserve Naturelle Marine de La Réunion, une démarche géographique, basée sur le concept de Territoire, est mise en place pour caractériser et mesurer l’acceptation sociale. Elle passe par la réalisation d’un diagnostic socio-économique, permettant l’identification des enjeux territoriaux des usagers. Ces enjeux sont l’expression des valeurs que les individus accordent aux services que rendait le territoire avant qu’il ne soit protégé et également de la crainte de perdre ces services. L’acceptation sociale de l’AMP est ainsi fonction du degré de satisfaction des enjeux territoriaux des acteurs. Des indicateurs de suivi de cette satisfaction, principalement basés sur le recueil de perceptions, sont proposés pour estimer l’acceptation sociale. Dans un second temps, la question de la généricité de cette démarche est posée. Sa déclinaison au cas du Parc Marin de Mohéli (Comores) et, plus rapidement, à l’AMP de Velondriake (Madagascar), montre que la territorialité des acteurs est un facteur majeur dans la construction de l’acceptation sociale, quel que soit le contexte politique et socio-économique local. Il existe, en revanche, des facteurs contextuels qui entrent également en ligne de compte et qui rendent incomplète la généricité de l’approche territoriale. / Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been widely adopted as sustainable management tools for marine ecosystems, mainly dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity. There is growing interest in research projects designed to assess their effectiveness and performance, in response to local demands from managers, as well as to a more global need for reporting mechanisms for decision-makers and funders. Until now, scientists have tended to evaluate effectiveness from a strictly biological perspective, without studying the socio-economic impacts. However, the success of MPAs is driven by three criteria of equal importance: ecological sustainability, economic feasibility and social acceptance. This thesis addresses the social impacts of MPAs and focuses on the need to imagine relevant tools to help managers estimate and monitor social acceptance. It aims to develop a generic methodology to monitor social dynamics in MPAs, in order to build appropriate indicators for local management and for reporting purposes. From the case of the Natural Marine Reserve of Reunion Island (French overseas department in the Western Indian Ocean), a geographical approach based on the Territory concept is developed to qualify and monitor social acceptance. A socio-economic diagnostic is made, to identify the users' territorial stakes, i.e. the values that individuals assign to the services rendered by the territory before it was protected and also to the fear of losing them. Thus, the social acceptance of MPAs depends on the user' levels of satisfaction with respect to their territorial stakes. Indicators based on perceptions are proposed, to monitor thesesatisfaction levels and hence to estimate social acceptance. The second part addresses the issue of the genericity of this approach. It is applied to the cases of Mohéli Marine Park (Comoros) and, more briefly, Velondirake MPA (Madagascar). Results show that users’ territoriality is a key factor in understanding social acceptance, whatever the local political and socio-economic context. Nonetheless, as certain contextual factors must also be taken into account, the territorial approach is not entirely generic.

L'espace naturel est l'objet d'enjeux très divers relayés par le droit qui y applique de nombreuses procédures et règles spécifiques. il doit concilier le développement des sociètés humaines et la protection de la nature. les aires protégées, pour l'essentiel, les parcs nationaux, les réserves naturelles et les arrêtés de protection de biotope, fournissent le cadre privilégié d'une étude d'ensemble du régime de protection dans ces espaces qui impose de sérieuses restrictions au droit des sols et notamment au droit de construire sur lequel se fonde le droit de l'urbanisme. des problèmes de conflit de normes apparaissent donc entre un droit de l'environnement qui a vocation à protéger les espaces, et un droit de l'urbanisme qui entend aménager, exploiter ces mêmes espaces. les relations conflictuelles entre des deux droits conduisent à analyser de manière systèmatique le régime de l'occupation des sols dans chaque aire protégée de france. au demeurant, le droit de l'environnement s'intéressera à la question de la superposition de réglementation qui conduit à des entraves à la conservation de la nature, ce, en raison d'une transformation de l'espace générée par la construction ou l'aménagement en terrains à bâtir. / The concept of protected natural area, including national parks and nature reserves, encompasses a variety of legal regimes. Among them, the most classical ones originate from a combination of legal statuses and police regulations. These protections are rooted in both environmental and planning laws, which tend to overlap, making it harder to clearly identify the regimes and principles that inspired them in the first place, and to appreciate their legal significance.On the one hand, the present work aims at defining the legal regime applicable to each of these protected natural areas, by explaining its specific normative organisation; on the other hand, its goal is to identify the contribution of planning law to the protection of natural areas, through its rules and procedures. The legal framework of the protection of natural areas thus clarified, it faces a double set of challenges. The first ones lay in the prioritisation and the articulation of regulations and procedures that derive from diverse laws applicable to the space. It also implies to remove certain obstacles linked to the competition of police regulations. The second set of challenges emanates from an emerging global law of sustainable development that has been granted constitutional status by the Chart for the Environnement. This global law irriguates the whole regulations and is now binding on all public policies, including city planning.constitutional level through the Environmental Charter..

The work concerned with the sustainable development of tourism and its friendly forms. The issue is applied to the example of the protected area Křivoklátsko. The aim of Diploma Thesis is to evaluate the current status and potential of sustainable tourism development, including mapping the availability of sustainable forms of tourism within the protected area Křivoklátsko and outline prospects, potential and opportunities for further development. The theoretical part defines the concept of sustainable development, definition, indicators and principles on which it is based issues in general as well as in relation to tourism. In the practical part the region as a tourism destination: the attractiveness of the area, živostní environment, material and technical base, sound forms of tourism and development potential. Part of the work is the analysis of the potential for sustainable tourism development of the protected landscape area Křivoklátsko made on the basis of survey among entrepreneurs in tourism, tourists, residents and county public administration bodies. The overall assessment of the status and potential of sustainable tourism development in the region is used and SWOT analysis.

National parks in the Czech Republic and their legal regulation Abstract The subject of this master theses are national parks in the Czech Republic and their legal regulation. The main legal document that regulates the issue of national parks in our country, is the Act No. 114/1992 Coll., On Nature and Landscape Protection, as amended. This Act has been significantly amended and its wording has been in force since 2017. For the most part, this new regulation affected especially national parks that represent the most important and strictly protected areas in the Czech Republic. Although, in practice the amendment has not yet been fully reflected, as some institutes are still in the process of negotiation or approval. The aim of this thesis is therefore by means of methods of description, analysis and comparison comprehensively summarize regulation of the existing national parks and at the same time in the light of the previous legislation to compare it and analyze. Subsequently, critically evaluate the extent to which the Czech legislator has managed to create an effective legal regulation responding to the current needs of nature protection. At the same time, the thesis also aimed to compare the legal regulation of national parks with a foreign state, specifically Slovakia. This thesis is divided into six...

The designation of state and private protected areas around the world has been increasing over the past years. Belize is not an exception to this reality. To date more than 103 protected areas have been recognized into the National Protected Areas System of Belize (NPAS). Private protected areas (PPA) did not become part of Belize’s NPAS until 2015. But long before its legislation, private protected areas have been contributing to conservation and development in Belize. The Golden Stream Corridor Preserve (GSCP) is one of Belize’s exemplary PPA which advocates for conservation through the promotion of sustainable livelihood development and community empowerment. Using the co-evolution model by Pretzsch et al. (2014) as a conceptual framework, direct use values and benefits of the GSCP are assessed to gain insight into its social ecological system. A single case (embedded) case study design was used to execute this assessment at three buffering communities: Medina Bank, Golden Stream and Indian Creek. A total of 60 households, representing 10% of household leaders in each community were interviewed using a semi structured questionnaire. Community leaders were also interviewed to discover customary rules relating to resource use and the history of each community. The direct use value assessment revealed that the GSCP only contributes to values associated with tourism and employment. These values were disproportionately distributed across buffering communities; with Indian Creek perceiving all values associated with tourism, and Golden Stream from employment. Medina Bank saw no direct use values from the GSCP. Community forests and lands were found to be the exclusive source of direct use values associated with the utilization of forest products. Sustainable livelihood development opportunities and community empowerment were the most reported benefits arising from the management of the GSCP. The adoption and contribution of livelihood strategies were however met with positive and negative criticism by community members. Results from this evaluation epitomizes the importance of SES thinking in protected areas. Customary rules of resource use have contributed positively to the integrity of the GSCP. The impending threat of land use change and population growth at buffering communities calls for the creation of enabling environments for the adoption of sustainable livelihood through community participation, consultation, monitoring and evaluation.:CHAPTER ONE 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Research question and justification 2 CHAPTER TWO 2. Theoretical and conceptual framework 4 2.2 Ecosystem service approach in protected areas 7 2.3 Emergence of private protected areas: global status, definition, benefits and downsides 11 2.4 Social ecological co-evolution: a conceptual Framework 13 CHAPTER THREE 3.1 National Context: protected areas in Belize 17 3.2 Local context: The Golden Stream Corridor Preserve 19 3.3 Case study approach 23 3.4 Data collection 25 3.5 Data analysis 29 3.6 Ethical considerations 32 CHAPTER FOUR 4. Embedded case studies . 34 4.1 Case study 1: Medina Bank Village 46 4.2 Case study 2: Golden Stream Village 48 4.3 Case study 3: Indian Creek Village 62 CHAPTER FIVE 5. Consolidating and comparing the embedded cases CHAPTER SIX 6. Implications of findings for management 92 CHAPTER SEVEN 7. Conclusions, limitations and outlook 102 Limitation 103 Outlook 104 REFERENCES 108 ANNEXS 115

Although protected areas have been used as principal conservation tools, most of them are suffering from human-induced threats. Consequently, a good understanding of such human-driven threats on biodiversity and identifying early warning systems for habitat change in protected areas is necessary for effective conservation of natural resources. To examine the impact of human disturbance on avifaunal assemblages and to assess the potential application of birds as bioindicators of forest health monitoring in the Afromontane forest of the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, I recorded birds and habitat variables in three protected and three unprotected forests using a point transect method in 2009 and 2012. The two land use types differ in disturbance levels (higher in the unprotected areas), vegetation structure and bird assemblages. Species richness of entire bird guild, open woodland and open land habitat guilds, granivore and insectivore feeding guilds, and shrub layer and ground layer foraging substrate guilds of birds were significantly higher in the unprotected areas than the protected areas. Abundances of guilds of birds mostly followed a similar trend with species richness. However, densities of overall and forest-specialist bird guilds were higher in the protected area and vice versa for the other guilds. In general, the protected area assemblages were dominated by forest-specialist species, while those of the unprotected areas were dominated by openland and shrubland species. The implication is that disturbance had caused encroachment of non-native species (openland, open woodland and shrub land species) while negatively affecting native species (forest species, particularly tree canopy foragers). These assemblage differences are linked to changes in vegetation structure caused by disturbance. Thus, further forest degradation in the protected area should be avoided in order to maintain native/forest-specialist species. Given the differences in bird assemblages between the two land use types, there is a high likelihood that bioindicator species (i.e. indicator species - those 'characteristic' of a particular habitat - and detector species - those occurring in the different habitats considered but with moderate indication value) can be identified, therefore providing a useful tool to monitor ecosystem health of the forests. Four and nine species were identified as appropriate indicator species (i.e. species with indicator values > 60% and fulfilling biological and niche history criteria used in selection) in the protected and unprotected areas, respectively. In addition, nine species were identified as detectors of habitat change in the protected areas. These bioindicators provide a useful tool for managers of Afromontane forest in the Bale Mountains, as well as similar habitats elsewhere, for long term monitoring of ecosystem health of the forests. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / DST/NRF Centre of Excellence / Zoology and Entomology / MSc / Unrestricted

Résumé : À l’heure où on vit la 6ème crise de la biodiversité, tous les pays signataires de la Convention sur la diversité biologique s’engagent à mettre en place des outils pour préserver leur patrimoine naturel. Les aires protégées représentent un des outils privilégiés pour la conservation de la biodiversité. Elles peuvent avoir des effets positifs et négatifs sur les populations riveraines ; parfois elles sont une source de conflits entre ces populations et les gestionnaires. Cette thèse de doctorat propose une approche interdisciplinaire pour analyser comment la réconciliation des enjeux de conservation de la biodiversité et de développement, dans et autour de la forêt du Karthala aux Comores, peut être appréhendée à partir des perceptions et des expériences des acteurs. Elle vise plus précisément à répondre à la question suivante : comment la notion d’aire protégée, qui est un concept occidental porté par des acteurs institutionnels internationaux aux Comores, entre ou non en conflit avec les perceptions des acteurs des territoires concernés ? Plusieurs méthodes complémentaires ont été utilisées. Nous mettons d’abord en lumière les représentations des composantes de la forêt et les perceptions des différents acteurs sur le projet de mise en protection. Ces perceptions sont comparées et discutées pour évaluer leur pertinence dans la prise de décisions conciliant objectifs de conservation et de développement du territoire. Nous avons ensuite mis en évidence la caractérisation des expériences de nature des riverains en explorant la relation humain-nature. Enfin, nous proposons une analyse intégrée des relation humains-forêt et du système socio-écologique qu’il représente à travers les représentations des riverains, les expériences de nature, l’importance déclarée de l’utilisation des ressources et l’identité environnementale. Toutes ces approches relativement nouvelles dans les pays du Sud permettent une discussion approfondie et importante pour discuter le processus de mise en place du Parc national du Karthala. / At the time of the 6th biodiversity crisis, all signatory countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity are committed to adopt tools allowing the preservation of their natural heritage. Protected areas are one of these tools for biodiversity conservation. These tools can have positive and negative effects on local populations; sometimes they are a source of conflict between these populations and managers. In this PhD thesis, we proposed an interdisciplinary approach to analyze how is it possible to reconcile biodiversity conservation goals and development issues in and around the Karthala forest in the Comoros. More precisely, we addressed the following question: How does the notion of protected area, which is a Western concept developed by international institutional actors, is in conflict or not with the perceptions of the actors of the territories concerned (here the Karthala forest)? We used several complementary methods for developing our analysis. We first analyzed the representations of the stakeholders regarding the Karthala forest as well as the perceptions of the project of creation of the park. These perceptions are therefore compared and discussed to to understand better if they can be a support for reconciling conservation and development objectives. We then point out the characterization of nature experiences by exploring the human-nature relationship. Finally, we propose an integrative analysis of the human-forest relationship and describe the corresponding socio-ecological system from local residents representations, experiences of nature, weights of the resources for local uses and environmental identity. These works allow for an in-depth discussion in the decision making process and the governance of the Karthala National Park.

Biodiversity monitoring and predictions of species occurrence are essential to develop outcome-oriented conservation management plans for endangered species and assess their success over time. To assess distribution and patterns of habitat use of large mammal assemblages in Thailand, with a focus on the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), I first implemented a long-term camera-trapping project carried out with park rangers from October 2003 through October 2007 in Khao Yai National Park. This project was extremely successful and may serve as a regional model for wildlife conservation. I found significantly lower relative abundance indices for carnivore species, and collectively for all mammals compared to data obtained in 1999-2000, suggesting population declines resulting from increased human activity. I integrated this data into maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) to further evaluate whether ranger stations reduced poaching activity and increased wildlife diversity and abundances. I then conducted a focused camera trap survey from January 2008 through February 2010 in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary to gather critical baseline information on dholes, one of the predator species that seemed to have declined over time and that is exposed to continued pressure from humans. Additionally, I led a collaborative effort with other colleagues in the field to collate and integrate camera trap data from 15 protected areas to build a country-wide habitat suitability map for dholes, other predators, and their major prey species. The predicted presence probability for sambar (Rusa unicolor) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were the most important variables in predicting dhole presence countrywide. Based on my experience from these different field ecological surveys and endeavors, it became clear that local people's beliefs may have a strong influence on dhole management and conservation. Thus, I conducted villager interview surveys to identify local attitudes towards dholes, document the status of dholes in wildlife sanctuaries adjacent to Cambodia, and determine the best approach to improve local support for dhole conservation before proceeding with further field studies of the species in Thailand. A photograph of a dhole was correctly identified by only 20% of the respondents. My studies provide evidence that some protected areas in Thailand continue to support a diversity of carnivore speices of conservation concern, including clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), dholes, and small felids. However, dholes' impact on prey populations may be increasing as tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopards are extripated from protected areas. The next step in dhole conservation is to estimate the size and stability of their fragmented populations and also focus on maintaining adequate prey bases that would support both large felids and dholes

Au Québec, le statut de paysage humanisé a été adopté en 2002 et, en 2021, l’ouest de l’île Bizard a été le premier territoire à recevoir le statut de paysage humanisé projeté. Ce statut vise à protéger la biodiversité qui découle de l’agriculture et des bocages datant du régime français sur le territoire de l’île. Avant l’adoption du statut de paysage humanisé, la protection des milieux agricoles a fait l’objet de plusieurs lois, politiques ou de projets d’aménagement. Malgré la multiplication des plans, les terres agricoles continuent d’être reprises à des fins de développement et continuent de perdre leur usage agricole. Selon nous, le statut de paysage humanisé propose un changement de paradigme où la perception du territoire comme ressource doit faire place au territoire comme paysage. En nous penchant sur le cas du paysage humanisé projeté de l’île Bizard, nous souhaitons explorer comment le statut de paysage humanisé s’articule à la loi sur la protection des terres et des activités agricoles (LPTAA) pour la protection des paysages agricoles. Comment le statut permet-il de protéger les usages agricoles en considérant le changement de paradigme ? Est-ce que le rôle des agriculteurs doit changer pour atteindre les objectifs du statut et, si oui, comment le plan de conservation propose-t-il d’accompagner ce changement de rôle ? L’analyse de la documentation issue de consultations publiques, les documents du paysage humanisé projeté ainsi que les règlements municipaux en parallèle avec la LPTAA a permis de constater que le statut de paysage humanisé ne rend pas explicite ce changement de rapport au territoire. L’articulation entre ce type d’aire protégée et la LPTAA est complexe, car les deux outils ont des visions divergentes de la conservation. Au niveau du ministère de l’Environnement (MELCC), responsable du statut de paysage humanisé, les pratiques de conservation préservationnistes et la mentalité de la gestion du territoire comme une ressource sont encore fortement ancrées. Ainsi, le statut de paysage humanisé n’agit pas directement pour la conservation des usages agricoles et pourrait même devenir un frein. Cependant, le statut permet à la communauté locale et à la Ville de Montréal de réfléchir et de se donner des objectifs en matière de conservation du paysage à long terme qui peuvent porter fruit si la sensibilisation des propriétaires et du public conduit à la création d’initiatives de conservation volontaires. La gouvernance du projet et les ressources disponibles pour la mise en œuvre du projet seront cruciales pour le développement du projet. L’une des lacunes du projet selon nous est le manque de connaissances détaillées à propos des activités humaines, de la biodiversité et des interactions entre ces deux dimensions cruciales du projet. Le rôle des agriculteurs est peu défini, mais une connaissance plus fine et spatialisée des pratiques agricoles bénéfiques et compatibles avec la biodiversité viendrait grandement préciser ce rôle et permettrait une meilleure conservation du paysage agricole. Dans le contexte de l’île Bizard, ces derniers ne semblent pas conscients de leur rôle de gardiens du paysage et de la biodiversité qui y est associée. / In Quebec, the “humanized landscape” (paysage humanisé) status was introduced in 2002 and in 2021. The western part of l’île Bizard was recognized as the first protected area of that type. This project is aimed at protecting the bocage landscape created by the agricultural practices dating back to the first French settlement on the island and the biodiversity that is associated with those practices. Before the adoption of this status, the protection of agricultural and rural areas was the subject of multiple laws, policies or planning projects. In spite of all these measures, agricultural land keeps losing ground to urban sprawl. According to our research, the humanized landscape status proposes a new paradigm in urban planning where the territory isn’t viewed as a resource, but as a landscape. Through a case study of the Île-Bizard humanized landscape project, we want to explore how the new protected area proposes to preserve the agricultural activities within this new framework of landscape protection. How is the status linked to the existing Loi pour la protection des terres et des activités agricoles (LPTAA)? What role do farmers have to play in this transition, and if their role has to change, how will this change be managed within the project’s framework? The review of documents pertaining to the humanized landscape project, the results of the public consultation and the municipal bylaws in relation to the LPTAA has led us to conclude that the project doesn’t render the paradigm shift explicitly. The links in between the LPTAA and the humanized landscape status are complex because each has a different vision for the preservation of agricultural land. Furthermore, the ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte aux changements climatiques de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP), which is responsible for the application of the status, is entrenched in preservationist conservation practises and a framework that views the territory as a resource. Thus, the humanized landscape doesn’t directly act to protect the agricultural activities and could even become an impediment. However, the status may allow the local community and the city of Montreal to reflect and to devise plans and objectives through which long-term landscape conservation may be achieved. In order to do so, raising awareness with landowners and the public and fostering a culture of stewardship towards the protection of the environment and the landscape will be necessary. Also, ensuring that the project properly managed and funded are crucial to the achievement of conservation objectives. As of now, the role of farmers is poorly defined and more knowledge needs to be acquired about agricultural practices and their interactions with the biodiversity of the island. This may allow more precise interventions and offer a clearer picture of the responsibilities of farmers regarding the protection of biodiversity. Within the Île-Bizard humanized landscape project, farmers and landowners don’t seem conscious of their role as stewards of the land.