Effects of a protected area on land-use dynamics and socioeconomic development of local populations

Abstract

Specific land uses, many of them considered as traditional practices, have contributed to nature conservation in that they have given rise to a valued landscape and a high degree of biological and cultural diversity. The result is the rural cultural landscape, also characterised by its multi-functionality, stability and adaptation to local conditions. Nonetheless, the abandonment of rural cultural landscapes constitutes the current trend in many regions. Although one way to preserve rural cultural landscapes involves establishing protected areas, management often forgets, or even restricts, the traditional rural activities that had contributed to the high conservation values recognised in these areas. In the present paper we applied a quantitative model to examine changes in rural cultural landscapes and in the socioeconomy of local populations following the establishment of a protected area. We formalised the relationship of dependence between landscape change and socioeconomy by means of multivariate ordination analysis and multiple regression calculation. The simple equation obtained shows the socioeconomic parameters that best account for change in the landscape and indicate their sign and importance. The results show that providing Regional Park protection status has not prevented the decline of traditional farming activities and, in turn, ecological succession has led to an intense shrub encroachment process. Such a change could be considered to be the result of a nature protection policy inspired by ideas of naturalness and wilderness. Our model also helps us to establish and formalise the dependence of the cultural landscape upon a socio-cultural system, which is currently undergoing rapid change, and brings us to consider the parameters of this change as indicators for management.