The Role of National Parks in the Development of Disadvantaged Karst Areas in Some European Countries

Karst terrains are often economically and socially disadvantaged areas because of their poor soil conditions and water scarcity. However, due to their special morphology and natural vegetation, several national parks were set up in karst areas. Thus, the question arises as to how well the karst national parks serve the interests of the local people besides their primary nature conservation goals. A national park can have a number of benefits for local inhabitants: it provides employment opportunities and can bring extra financial resources to those who live there. However, there are also restrictions that may result in conflicts. The development of tourism is typical in most national parks, but this development may also conflict with nature conservation goals and with local people. In this chapter, first we review the significance of karst terrains in European national parks and geoparks. Next, focussing on some Eastern Central and Southern European countries, we present some aspects of the park–local people–tourists relationship based on semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. Our summarized conclusion is that the studied national parks have a positive impact on local development, but they are not enough to solve the deeply rooted social problems of these disadvantaged karst areas.