Tourism in the Slovenský Raj National Park – an analysis of its contribution to sustainable rural development

The structure of this thesis is as follows: In the context of the study area of the Slovenský Raj National Park, section 2 looks into the process of institutional change in the CEE from the ex-post analysis. The ex-post institutional analysis helps to understand how the present came about and how the future might develop. In order to understand the process of the institutional change, this section highlights the importance and necessity of assuming the existence of previous institutions and the influence of this interaction on the durability and stability of new institutional forms. In search for driving forces behind and 15 barriers to sustainable development, Section 3 focuses on the current capacity of the study area to deal with slow and imperceptible changes in the circumstances of the transition countries. Special attention is paid to the concept of robustness, which plays an important role in the context of CEE, more precisely in the area of the SRNAP, where the economic and political transition process has been followed by an increased tourist inflow to the National Park and consequent slow environmental changes, without adequate strategies and considerable societal response. Analysing current situation of the study area helps to identify potential problems and understand what changes and innovation in the current conditions are needed to ensure sustainable development. By applying multi-criteria evaluation, section 4 explores different options with regard to tourism development in the study area and the necessary changes in the institutional arrangements in relation to these options. By analysing the process of institutional building from different time perspectives section 5 (conclusions) illustrates the driving forces behind and barriers of the study area towards robust and sustainable rural development and describes some policy implications

Opportunities and constraints of adopting market governance in protected areas in Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyses the transition from the traditional hierarchical governance of natural resources in Central and Eastern Europe towards the new forms of market governance of protected areas, including the introduction of fees and compensation. Our conceptual framework suggests that markets can be effective in governing transactions that involve low asset specificity and low frequency of disturbances. However, the introduction of markets should be accompanied by appropriate rules of market organization that particularly regulate their monitoring and impose sanctions in cases of mismanagement. The analysis of market governance in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reveals that in the face of decreasing funding for biodiversity protection and state budgetary problems, markets are more a necessity than a means to improve resource management. Although markets should complement rather than substitute traditional forms of governance, for certain types of transactions, markets are useful. They can be effectively implemented, provided that property rights are recognized and legal settings that regulate the monitoring and enforcement of market rules are set up

SHIFTING GOVERNANCE IN SLOVENSKY RAJ NATIONAL PARK

This paper explores the role of social capital and governance in rural development within Slovensky Raj National Park. Based on the theory of Common Pool Resources and Network Governance, the case study explores the external and internal influences on cooperation. Current decision making in the Park is still affected by post socialist relations. In particular inefficient institutional design and non-robust governance of the resources have resulted in over-exploitation of natural resources and treating common property as open-access. On one hand, evidence emerged on domination of interpersonal trust and failure of institutional design. These were found as barriers for the National Park to be viewed by various actors as an asset. On the other hand, municipal and tourism networks show that cooperation is gradually moving from being externally to internally driven, while displaying characteristics of bottom-up development. A hierarchical governance structure is thus slowly opening up, shifting towards networks

Opportunities and constraints of adopting market governance in protected areas in Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyses the transition from the traditional hierarchical governance of natural resources in Central and Eastern Europe towards the new forms of market governance of protected areas, including the introduction of fees and compensation. Our conceptual framework suggests that markets can be effective in governing transactions that involve low asset specificity and low frequency of disturbances. However, the introduction of markets should be accompanied by appropriate rules of market organization that particularly regulate their monitoring and impose sanctions in cases of mismanagement. The analysis of market governance in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reveals that in the face of decreasing funding for biodiversity protection and state budgetary problems, markets are more a necessity than a means to improve resource management. Although markets should complement rather than substitute traditional forms of governance, for certain types of transactions, markets are useful. They can be effectively implemented, provided that property rights are recognized and legal settings that regulate the monitoring and enforcement of market rules are set up

Opportunities and constraints of adopting market governance in protected areas in Central and Eastern Europe

This article analyses the transition from the traditional hierarchical governance of natural resources in Central and Eastern Europe towards the new forms of market governance of protected areas, including the introduction of fees and compensation. Our conceptual framework suggests that markets can be effective in governing transactions that involve low asset specificity and low frequency of disturbances. However, the introduction of markets should be accompanied by appropriate rules of market organization that particularly regulate their monitoring and impose sanctions in cases of mismanagement. The analysis of market governance in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia reveals that in the face of decreasing funding for biodiversity protection and state budgetary problems, markets are more a necessity than a means to improve resource management. Although markets should complement rather than substitute traditional forms of governance, for certain types of transactions, markets are useful. They can be effectively implemented, provided that property rights are recognized and legal settings that regulate the monitoring and enforcement of market rules are set up

SHIFTING GOVERNANCE IN SLOVENSKY RAJ NATIONAL PARK

This paper explores the role of social capital and governance in rural development within Slovensky Raj National Park. Based on the theory of Common Pool Resources and Network Governance, the case study explores the external and internal influences on cooperation. Current decision making in the Park is still affected by post socialist relations. In particular inefficient institutional design and non-robust governance of the resources have resulted in over-exploitation of natural resources and treating common property as open-access. On one hand, evidence emerged on domination of interpersonal trust and failure of institutional design. These were found as barriers for the National Park to be viewed by various actors as an asset. On the other hand, municipal and tourism networks show that cooperation is gradually moving from being externally to internally driven, while displaying characteristics of bottom-up development. A hierarchical governance structure is thus slowly opening up, shifting towards networks.Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,