Volume 11 - Issue 60
/ December 2022
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http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.60.12.15
How to Cite:
Zigern-Korn, N. (2022). In search of the management model of the nature reserve as a sustainable tourist destination. Amazonia
Investiga, 11(60), 145-149. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.60.12.15
In search of the management model of the nature reserve as a
sustainable tourist destination
В поисках модели управления природным заповедником как устойчивым
туристическим направлением
Received: December 5, 2022 Accepted: December 30, 2022
Written by:
Zigern-Korn Nataliya67
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9734-9959
Abstract
The demand for tourism and recreation in natural
landscapes is steadily growing and the offers of
tours are outstripping the solution of problems
and issues related to the management of such
destinations. The practice of using natural
reserves as tourist destinations sets the task of
conscious reconciliation of nature conservation
and tourism functions. In foreign practice, this
task is traditionally solved for such forms as
national parks. In Russia, along with national
parks, nature reserves are increasingly becoming
a common and accessible form for recreation,
and it is in their territories that we most often
observe a conflict of nature management. On the
one hand, nature reserves are very attractive for
recreation and tourism, since there is practically
no protection regime for their valuable natural
complexes. On the other hand, its function as a
natural reserve is incompatible with
anthropogenic impact from recreation activity.
The study of recreation and tourist flows carried
out by us is interesting because its object is
atypical for the tourist function of reserves –
nature reserves, and the subject of the study is not
route-organized tourist and recreational flows,
but the areal nature of their tourist development.
In the course of the tourist and recreational flows
studying in the Kurgalsky Nature Reserve of the
Leningrad region and assessing their impact on
natural complexes, among other tasks, we made
an attempt to determine the conceptual and
methodological foundations of monitoring to
ensure a sustainable management model for such
a destination as a nature reserve. The
substantiation of the monitoring methodology as
a tool for implementing a sustainable
67
Candidate of Geographical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Regional Studies and International Tourism of the
St. Petersburg State University, Russian Federation.
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management model of a nature reserve as a
tourist destination is the content of this article.
Keywords: destination management, nature-
oriented tourism, tourism in nature reserves, the
Limits of Acceptable Changes method.
Introduction
The growing popularity of nature-oriented
tourism is characteristic of both international and
national tourism markets. A peculiarity of the
natural recreation development has become its
association with specially protected natural areas
(protected areas). Firstly, the protected area is the
most popular attraction among citizens, because
it embodies the quintessence of the value of
outdoor recreation and a kind of exclusive natural
recreation. The second circumstance is the better
quality of natural complexes in reserves than in
rural landscapes near cities.
In foreign practice, nature reserves have long
been places where management seeks to
consciously reconcile environmental and tourist
interests (Miller, Liske, Carter & Walsh, 2018).
In this case, national parks are an effective and
typical form of a reserve. They practice
organized forms of tourism and recreation in the
models of ecotourism, soft tourism, special
interest tourism, green tourism, responsible
tourism, etc. and the category Protected
Destination System (PDS) applies to them. The
PDS category is used to highlight areas that are
managed and developed to support both
conservation and tourism programs in an
integrated manner (Miller et al., 2018). This term
emphasizes the interdependence between tourist
destinations and protected areas.
Our study and its results are interesting because
the object of the study was a non–specific reserve
for tourism – the Kurgalsky Nature Reserve, and
the subject of the study is the impact of
unorganized recreation on its natural complexes.
During the study of the tourist and recreational
flow in the Kurgalsky nature reserve of the
Leningrad region and the assessment of its
impact on natural complexes, we asked ourselves
if there are any solutions for the balanced
coexistence of nature conservation and
recreational functions in nature reserves of the
North-West of Russia and on what conceptual
and methodological basis is this possible. On the
one hand, there is a high demand for nature
reserves as the most convenient form of protected
areas for outdoor recreation. On the other hand,
in nature reserves with active recreation, the
tasks of preserving biodiversity are acutely set.
The current regulations on nature reserves
prohibit a number of types of recreation, but in
practice they are not implemented. Currently,
there are no effective methodological approaches
to ensuring a balance between nature
conservation and recreational types of nature use
in nature reserves.
Literature review
Since the 70-s of the last century, managers have
been trying to protect nature from the negative
influence of tourists with the help of quantitative
standards, which is reflected in a number of
works by researchers. Domestic research has
been dominated by the study of the effects of
recreation on natural complexes and the
justification of quantitative indicators of
recreational loads and capacity of national parks
(Zabelina, 2006). Works on the use of the
ideology and method Limits of Acceptable
Change (LAC) (Stankey, Cole, Lucas, Petersen,
& Frissell, 1985) on the example of the Baikal
and Trans-Baikal National Parks allowed a new
look at the problem of tourism planning in Russia
(Kalikhman, Pedersen, Savenkova & Suknev,
1999; Shirokov, Kalikhman, Komissarova &
Savenkova, 2002). In addition, there were
separate attempts to apply not the methodology
itself, but its main idea: increasing the
permissible recreational capacity of protected
areas popular with tourists without calculating
the exact quantitative load limit. In them, against
the background of the existing load, the actual
change of the landscape under the influence of
recreation and the need to comply with certain
conditions for tourists to visit the territory were
taken into account (Chizhova, 2006).
Zigern-Korn, N. / Volume 11 - Issue 60: 145-149 / December, 2022
Volume 11 - Issue 60
/ December 2022
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http:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
However, both in foreign and domestic studies,
the object of application of the LAC
methodology is national parks and route methods
of their recreational development (Castellanos,
Alvarez, Clemente, García Ucha &
Fernández-Truan, 2017). It is logical to assume
that for a national park with a predominantly
linear way of visitors movement, the method of
assessing the recreational load (calculation of
tourists on the route) and regulatory tools differ
from those for reserves with a free mode of
movement of vacationers throughout the area.
The responses of ecosystems to similar load
values at different visiting modes differ from
each other. Reliability of accounting, regulation
and forecasting of the load in nature reserves,
such as Kurgalsky, is difficult to ensure due to its
spatial and temporal unevenness, as well as a
variety of motives for recreational behavior of
people. The latter circumstance determines the
relevance of our task - based on the results of
observations and their spatial analysis, to identify
patterns of manifestation of the facts of
digression of natural complexes, to determine the
conceptual and methodological basis of
monitoring for the purpose of creating and
developing a sustainable model of recreational
use and management of protected areas in the
form of a nature reserve.
Methodology
The research was carried out in combination of
natural science methods (landscape,
biogeographic) and sociological research
methods. In order to analyze the size, distribution
and redistribution of the tourist flow in the
summer field period, measurements of the traffic
flow were made at the main points of entry and
exit to the territory of the reserve during the day.
The daily, weekly and seasonal dynamics of
flows were studied. The results of the
measurements reflected the seasonal aspect of
the dynamics of recreation (the onset of the berry
and mushroom picking season), the weather
regime, the daily and weekly rhythms of
suburban recreation. The distribution of the flows
of tourists and vacationers on the territory of the
reserve was analyzed using the methods of
transport graphs.
To assess the impact of recreation on the natural
complexes of the Reserve, the methods of visual
express observations were used at the recreation
sites of tourists, seasonal and local visitors.
Previously, the selection of representative sites
(territories) for further observations and research
was carried out by a combined automobile and
pedestrian route method. The most visited for
various purposes natural complexes associated
with biotopes were selected as representative
sites. Observations were carried out
simultaneously on weekdays and weekends in
the morning, afternoon and evening. The number
of recreants, vehicles, and types of recreational
activities were recorded on these territories.
In the selected representative sites, a five-stage
scale of recreational digression was used to
assess the transformation of natural complexes
under the influence of recreation (Kazanskaya,
1972). Recreational digression is changes in
natural complexes (mainly in forest biotopes)
under the influence of their intensive use for
recreation of the population. The use of the
methodology for assessing the digression of
natural complexes (Chizhova, 2011), in our
opinion, is successfully combined with the
ideology and methodology of the limits of
permissible changes (Stankey et al., 1985;
McCool & Cole, 1997). Interpretation of the
results obtained on the identified areas of
recreational impact, similar in landscape
properties, type and intensity of recreational use,
allowed us to determine the types of recreational
use areas.
Results and Discussion
As a result of the conducted research, an idea has
been formed about the diversity of forms and
results of recreational use of the territory of the
reserve. They reflect both the species and the
territorial structure of the recreational impact on
the natural complexes of the reserve, as well as
the result of this impact, expressed through the
digression index. The following criteria formed
the basis for the allocation and typology of
recreational use territories: types of recreational
activities by groups of vacationers in this
territory; type of natural complex, the degree of
its transformation and disturbance.
As types of recreational activities were
identified: camping, picking mushrooms and
berries, fishing, walking, dog walking,
swimming, picnic, motor vehicles riding. The
types of natural complexes are represented by
several groups of typical biotopes here, isolated
in forests, on the coast and beaches of the bay and
inland reservoirs of the reserve. Depending on
the prevailing activity of certain groups of
vacationers (tourists, weekend visitors, summer
residents and locals), various forms of recreation
arrangements were determined on the territory:
parking of vehicles, parking with a tent, picnic
sites, garbage localization or simply transit (pass-
through) territories.
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The following types of recreational use territories
were identified:
• Forest territories: mushroom and berry
lands, forest territories within the boundaries
of settlements used for active and passive
recreation, the territories performing transit
functions within woodlands, garbage
localization zones (forest areas adjacent to
beaches and tourist parking areas).
• Beaches.
• Parking and picnic areas.
• Parking.
• Territories of organized recreational
facilities (residential and household
buildings for recreational purposes).
Of undoubted interest from the point of view of
the structure of anthropogenic impact on the
natural complexes of the reserve is the
distribution of the above-described types of
recreational use territories according to the forms
of recreation organization (organized and
spontaneous). The facts of the manifestation of
anthropogenesis as a result of unorganized forms
of recreation prevail, and the smallest number of
them (tourist parking) is inherent for tourists, the
largest – are typical for seasonal and local
population activity.
The assessment of the current levels of tourist
and recreational load on the natural complexes of
the reserve was based on the following criteria:
the ratio of modified and little-modified natural
complexes; the density of the road and path
network; the stage of digression; assessment of
the complex according to the LAC method.
Calculations of the impact assessment using the
LAC methodology show that the natural
complexes of the most popular recreation areas
are in poor condition, due to their high attendance
by all groups of vacationers, as well as the
presence of tourist parking areas used during the
warm period. For these territories, a high and
medium potential threat of biodiversity loss has
been noted. The woodlands where mushrooms
and berries are harvested are in a conditionally
satisfactory condition. However, access to them
by car leads to the expansion of the network of
forest roads and to the degradation of vegetation
cover.
As a result, according to the levels of tourist and
recreational load, four types of territories of the
Kurgalsky Reserve were identified:
1. Territories with a low level of tourist and
recreational load are wetlands, remote and
hard-to–reach areas of the reserve, where
areas of undisturbed or slightly disturbed
natural complexes prevail. For recreational
purposes, they are used by seasonal and local
populations. Stages of digression from 2 to
3. Assessment of the state of natural
complexes according to the LAC method -
"good".
2. Territories with an average level of tourist
and recreational load are areas with
undisturbed or slightly disturbed natural
complexes and small areas of disturbed
natural complexes with a developed road
and path network in the central parts of the
reserve. For recreational purposes, they are
mainly used by seasonal and local
populations. Stages of digression from 2 to
3. Assessment of the state of natural
complexes according to the LAC method -
"good".
3. Territories with a high level of tourist and
recreational load are areas in the central
parts of the reserve with disturbed and
severely disturbed natural complexes, with a
dense road and path network. For
recreational purposes, they are used by all
groups of visitors. Stages of digression from
2 to 5. Assessment of the state of natural
complexes according to the LAC
"satisfactory" method.
4. Territories with a very high level of tourist
and recreational load are areas with severely
disturbed natural complexes, with a dense
road and path network, with garbage
localization, located on the coasts of bays
and lakes. For recreational purposes, they
are used by all groups of visitors. Stages of
digression from 3 to 5. Assessment of the
state of natural complexes according to the
LAC method "satisfactory" and "poor".
Types of territories 3 and 4 pose high risks
of biodiversity loss.
According to the LAC methodology, 4
compliance classes (out of 6) were allocated for
the reserve. For individual territories of the
reserve, according to their compliance class, the
directions of their recreational use are
recommended, which will not cause undesirable
changes in the natural environment, and which
can become the subject of monitoring according
to selected indicators of the state of natural and
social conditions. The cartographic
representation of the characteristics of the
territory of the Kurgalsky Nature Reserve by
"compliance classes" allowed to create a basis for
the targeting and accuracy of spatial solutions for
optimizing the reserve function and recreational
function in the reserve.
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For the purposes of natural destination
management, the LAC methodology is certainly
the most progressive in comparison with the
widespread methodology for quantifying
recreational capacity and recreational load, both
in foreign and domestic practice. However, in
most studies, the object of its application is
national parks and route methods of their
recreational development (McCool & Cole,
1997). Most adherents of LAC ideology indicate
zoning and proper creation of places to visit
among the load management tools (Miller et al.,
2018; McCool & Cole, 1997). In turn, spatial
solutions, such as zoning, cannot be worked out
once and for all, but must be dynamic, based on
a system of continuous monitoring of the state of
natural complexes and recreational load (Miller
et al., 2018).
Conclusion
In the conditions of the dominance of amateur
tourism in the territories of natural reserves that
are not national parks, and are characterized by
the free movement of recreation subjects diverse
in goals, values and types of occupations, a
special approach to managing the tourist flow is
in demand. It should be based on the ideology
and methods of Limits of Acceptable Change in
combination with an assessment of the digression
of natural complexes and the potential threat of
reducing the biological diversity of biotopes.
For our and similar research objects – nature
reserves with an area–based method of
distributing amateur tourism flows - for effective
management, it seems appropriate to combine
zoning tools and operational monitoring of
natural complexes. Operational monitoring
should be based not on computational methods
for determining recreational capacity and load,
but on an assessment of the state of natural
complexes and components under recreational
influence. Moreover, the dynamism and
efficiency of such monitoring should be provided
by the methods of visual express observations,
the content of which combines the LAC
methodology and the assessment of the stage of
digression of natural complexes in combination
with an assessment of the potential threat of
reducing the biological diversity of the biotopes
of the territory.
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