Ecosystem services in protected areas
Project Ecosystem services in NP Muránska planina was implemented during 2014-2015 with the financial support of the Grant GEF SGP. Project partners were TU Vienna, WWF Vienna, Secondary school Tisovec, PPP Muránska planina – Čierny Hron, State Nature Conservancy – Administration of the NP Muránska planina.
Ecosystem services are functions of ecosystems that enable people to satisfy their human needs. In the project we evaluated ESS in the NP Muránska planina with focus on the potencial of the sustainable tourism in the area. The project follows up on the project of the introduction of a modern tourism management model (implemented by project European Charter for sustainable tourism in NP Muránska planina) and takes as basis initial studies of the evaluation of ESS carried out in Slovakia. The project pointed out the values brought from the area as well as on the fact that the income generated in tourism sector is directly dependent on the existence of the national park. Therefore the local community should be involved and interested in the maintenance of these values. The methodology for a quick valuation enables to point out the interconnection between the real value, the financial assessment and financial profit from the ecosystem services (payments for ecosystem services) and in further the positive impact for biodiversity and local economy as well as a fair allocation and distribution of funds. The nature protection managers have improved positon in argumentation in favor of nature protection. This was the main goal of the project – the improved argumentation of nature protection managers for more efficient biodiversity protection with a support of local communities.