Ecotourism and Sustainability in Environmentally Fragile Poor Areas: a Case Study in Prespa Park

1. Ecotourism and Sustainability in Environmentally Fragile Poor Areas: a Case Study in Prespa Park Dorina Grazhdani Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania

2. - Basin area of 1,600 sq km shared between the three neighboring countries (MK 62%, AL 17%, GR 21%); Approximately 30,000 inhabitants (MK 75%, AL 17%, GR 8%); - Local economy based on agriculture, tourism, fishing, forestry, etc…; …has been identified as one of Europe's major trans-boundary “ecological bricks” and biodiversity “hot spot”…. Where is the case study: Prespa Park?

3. What is the main aim of Prespa Park? “The preservation of the valuable natural and cultural characteristics of the whole Prespa Park through management methods and development initiatives, that enhance the standard of living of its inhabitants as well as promote peace and friendship between the three peoples, and lead to economic and social prosperity and convergence.”

4. Basic characteristics of Prespa Park • 1.Two interconnected lakes: Macro and Micro Prespa; • 2.Prespa, as a whole, constitutes one of the most valuable areas of the Balkans and Europe. The valuable features of the region are the following: • The beauty of the landscape; • The various rare biotopes; • The rich fauna as a whole, with special emphasis on rare and endemic species; • The traditional settlements, as well as individual buildings with architectural value; • Particularities of the local culture that are still preserved and mainly relate to the relationship between man and nature; • The local varieties of breeding animals and cultivated plants ; • The large number of Byzantine and meta-Byzantine monuments, for such a small area.

5. 3. The area has great scientific interest both for the natural environment but also in all aspects of the man-nature relationship; 4. The productive system is not balanced and equally developed in all sectors; 5. Sustainable protected area management and development should not be limited to a stiff or inflexible specific strategy, but it should be more a driving force and an approach to understanding the complex ecological, socioeconomic relationships; 6. Large-scale or intensive development initiatives in the primary, secondary or tertiary sector are often incompatible with the preservation of the values of the area; 7. Alternative technology, renewable energy sources and new production methods should be used in order to facilitate the transition fromintensive uses of natural resources to more sustainable ones;

6. 8. One of the main challenges of the Prespa Park is to establish procedures for actual participation of stakeholders, share information equally, exchange opinions, set priorities, and criteria, in order to make the best choices, reach agreement and proceed with implementation.

7. What Ecotourism Mean? The Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as: “Responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people“, or "to learn about the places and peoples visited"and"to minimize their negative impacts while visiting sensitive environments and cultures."

8. The lecture is prepared using the following methods for data gathering, processing and analysis: (1)Field survey (for deriving the economic, social and biophysical profile of the study area); (2)Literature survey (Study of the existing documents including international, national and locally based that have been carried out by national or international authors); (3) Cases comparison (Seminars and workshops organized with local stakeholders); (4) SWOT method of analysis.

9. Present status of tourism and trends for ecotourism development • Landscapes and tradition in an area like Prespa, endowed with a variety of unique values – natural and cultural – tourism is often seen as the universal solution for economic development; • Tourism in the AL-Prespa area is small-scale rural and family tourism, based on a few small hotels, private accommodation and restaurants; • The main tourist period lasts from June to September with a peak in July and August; • Domestic guests dominate the Prespa tourism market, with less than five percent of foreign tourists; • Capacities for overnight stays in hotels are 34 beds, for private accommodation 440 beds and there are 11 restaurants with 375 seats; • The occupancy rate for the few hotels ranges from 10-20% (average 11.6%) and for private accommodation between 0.4 and 8% (average 3%);

10. … continue Challenges • Tourism is expected to increase over the next 20 years, calling for the development of tourist and traffic infrastructure, and regional planning to encourage increased tourism; • The quality of the services offered calls for improvements too: boat trips, swimming, guided tours of historical monuments, insufficient number of nature observation points, small-scale conference facilities; • Presently, tourism does not have a particularly severe impact on NPP resources/biodiversity except for the inadequate management of solid waste and uncontrolled wastewater discharge; • Uncontrolled tourism may aggravate stress on ecosystems and unequal distribution of income opportunities, so a planned basin-wide approach is required. This refers both to many sectors supporting tourism activities, like roads, water supply and sewage, as well as coordinated, nature-based planning and marketing.

11. … continue The Way Ahead • Sustainable tourism which respects ecological limits within which human activities should remain, and recognizes the interdependence of economic and environmental systems to provide for long-term socio-economic benefits; • Ecotourism as an environmentally responsible travel to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features - both past and present).

12. Haw far is the current status of the tourism from sustainable development of ecotourism? This section explores consequences of neglecting any of the three sustainability dimensions: • environmental, • social and • economic, for sustainable ecotourism development. a. Environmental Sustainability The major environmental concerns in the case study are: • the collection and treatment of wastewater and • the management of solid waste; • uncontrolled tourist/land development; • visitor access; • uncontrolled fire and barbecue; • visitors are partly unaware of AL-Prespa’s existence and do not recognize the reasons, restrictions and challenges involved in protected area management; • The absence of infrastructure (i.e. toilets, dustbins, parking grounds).

13. … continue Environmental practices in the development and operation of ecotourism facilities, establishments and services • Use of renewable energy sources (e.g. solar heating, photo-voltaic panels, wind and hydroelectric installations, etc.); • energy saving methods (e.g. insulation of hot-water pipes, building design with natural ventilation to reduce air-conditioning, etc.); • use of environmental friendly transport (e.g. horses, man-propelled boats, vehicles and boats equipped with electric engine, cars with natural gas engine, cycling, collective transport, use of fiberglass canoes instead of dugout ones to prevent destruction of old trees, etc.); • limitation of visitors’ number in tourist groups, in sensitive areas and at establishments, to avoid damage to environment and to ensure quality experience; use of noise reducing vessels;

14. … continue • construction of tourist establishments using local materials, traditional architecture and design for easier and cheaper supply, environmental friendly materials and authentic style; • construction wood materials from reforested areas; • landscape design that is in harmony with original landscape and flora; recycling and use of recycled products; adequate disposal of rubbish (at designated areas); • use of biodegradable products; • environmental friendly waste-water management; water saving techniques (e.g. use of composting toilets, rainwater collection); • organic farming without use of pesticides and other chemicals, etc.; • promotion of traditional fishing techniques, working with local fishermen in the AL- Prespa lake region.

15. … continue Education and interpretation activities to host communities are as follows: • Training of specialized nature guides by naturalist/ environmentalist experts, adventure sport monitors, trekking guides, etc.; • capacity building on business skills and tourist services quality for local service providers; • general awareness raising programmes on nature conservation and environmental protection; • teaching and promotion of sustainable agricultural, forestry and fishery practices and techniques; • environmental education activities in local schools (promotion of environmental and wildlife clubs, organizing field visits, giving guest lectures, tree planting, etc.); • development of specific programs for the preservation of cultural heritage (customs, rituals, language, gastronomy, traditional livelihood activities, etc.);

16. … continue • interpretative information and visitor centres; • providing field guidebooks and equipment (e.g. binoculars) for wildlife and bird watching; • library in hotels and lodges providing geographic and ecological information; • cultural interpretation programmes with the direct involvement of local communities sharing their lifestyle; • interpretative nature rails; workshops related to conservation of nature and heritage; • direct involvement of tourists in conservation activities and scientific research; • on-site vegetable gardens and livestock farms for participating in organic agricultural practices, etc.

17. … continue Some activities contributing directly to the conservation of natural areas are as follows: • Establishing conservation areas or private reserves through the purchase of territories or partnering with local landowners; • cooperating with protected areas authorities by strictly complying with regulations and paying user fees; • habitat re-generation programmes with local communities and as part of ecotourism activities (reforestation, re-introduction of native species, nurseries, clean up, etc.); • designating certain proportion of the company income for conservation purposes, or charging extra fees to tourists for conservation and research purposes; • facilitating and cooperating for scientific research on flora, fauna and ecosystems.

18. … continue • Social Sustainability As with the natural environment, the socio-cultural environment serves as both an ecotourism attraction and a recipient of ecotourism’s impacts. The activities related to culture, environment, education, sustainable development and tourism in AL-Prespa are based on the full involvement of the local people in the following ways: • Participating in renovation works oriented to tourism; • participation in the different events; • providing training for the women organization in order to increase the capacities for hosting and service; • collaboration with local service providers, tourism organizations, and local NGOs. • The community benefits in AL-Prespa are secured directly through employment for related services, and indirectly through the use of local services, the purchase of local goods and crafts, and contributing to local infrastructure development;

19. … continue • presentation of local cultures and providing a lifestyle experience for tourists; • carrying out cultural activities with the active involvement of host populations; • development of participatory activities for tourists, organized performance groups and craft-making activities, among others. • the establishment of institutional mechanisms (e.g. community committees, boards and trusts, community funds, etc.) linked with traditional social structures forms the basis of ecotourism activities; • emphasizing that the key to good community relationships is simply through good communication, frequent meetings and contacts with host populations, and the transparency of operations

20. … continue • Economic Sustainability • There are in AL-Prespa various stakeholders in ecotourism, from operators to natural area managers to local communities who often seek economic benefits from ecotourism, whether it is sales and profits for operators, user fee revenues for natural area management, or jobs and income for local communities; • Tourism in area also provides a number of economic benefits; • Ideally, it can be managed in a non-destructive manner and thus become sustainable.

21. … continue • Tourism is not only important source of revenue for protected area AL-Prespa, but also it play dominant role as driver for economic development more generally in supporting different kind of local and national businesses such as hotels, restaurants, transports and production of souvenirs also there is big potential for forming partnerships of protected area authorities and sectors and agencies in order to develop tourism opportunity; • Tourism in AL-Prespa is also seen as an important instrument to ensure economic development and has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural communities.

22. … continue Putting great emphasis on tourism development in the area: • Development of general infrastructure; • social, health and educational services and facilities; • heightened awareness on traditional cultural values and nature conservation; • better institutional and organizational structures, and other achievements are all important factors related with ecotourism development; • defining tourism development areas along the shorelines of Macro Prespa and classified them as areas of high tourist potential;

23. … continue Conducting marketing activities. Some are as follows: • a database on tourism capacities is also prepared; • all the region’s potential is evidenced engaging the locally based experts and interested peoples; • a cross-border common tourist map have be produced using modern technology; • a special website will be created; • also, the production of a common brochure for the entire area is underway, and a special website have to be created;

24. … continue Profitability of the ecotourism business • Ecotourism is rather a complementary activity to traditional activities, providing supplementary income to low-productive agricultural and extractive activities, especially in low agricultural seasons; • The profits of the local population are expected to be increased through the ecotourism operations; • The benefits derived from ecotourism activities for small communities should not be measured solely in economic terms; • The villages of Gorica e Vogël and Gollomboç are the first that are stimulated in this direction; • The capacity for accommodating visitors will be more than 500 and the incomes are expected to be multiplied, as the area has a lot of cultural and natural attractions for the guests.

25. Recommendations The Prespa Park can be a successful ecotourist destination if the industry is encouraged. For this reason, the following recommendations are made: • Attempts should be made to conserve the physical ecology as well as the cultural ecology of the local communities by empowering them through a participatory protected area management approach; • Orient the tourism sector towards nature conservation and sustainable development; establish a quality basic tourism infrastructure (accommodation, trails, etc.); • There should be a crackdown on illegal encroachments of the heritage sites. Permission for construction of structures within these zones should be denied; • The local communities should be encouraged to enrich their local heritage and skills so as to make their traditions more attractive rather than less in the face of change;

26. Recommendations • Ecotourism should provide an opportunity for these local communities to generate more income from the tourism business in a dignified manner; • The whole approach of cultural integrity of the local communities and tourism should be honored on the basis of right perspective for the local communities, not merely on income generation perspective for the local government; • The fabric of native culture reflected through folklore, folk music, folk dance, and customs should be promoted through required value addition; • Orient the tourism potentials and development to the type of consumers interested in and sensitive towards nature, traditional culture and conservation; closely work with local communities;

27. Recommendations • Studies should be conducted to establish the possible effects of ecotourism on the local people and their cultural life; • Development of infrastructure and safety measures in the interior of the AL-Prespa should be of prime importance in the intervention to establish ecotourism in the Park; • Greater investment should be made in the promotion and preservation of monuments with cultural, historical and mythological significance; • The promotion of friendship and co-operation between the three countries, which could constitute a model for the development of similar mountainous areas in the Balkan region; • The promotion of the wise use and sustainable development of the natural resources through the application of innovative and pilot development programmes;

28. Recommendations Overall, the ecotourism of the AL-Prespa should: • effectively protect local people and cultures from external threats; • recognize their traditional rights on land and water; • recognize their rights to control and co-manage these resources; • allow participation of traditional institutions in the management of natural resources and • recognize the rights of these people to determine their own development priorities.

29. Thank You for Your attention!