Title: Involving local people in sustainable rural development and conservation: a response to the economic crisis

Authors: Veronika Andrea; Georgios Tsantopoulos; Stilianos Tampakis; Garyfallos Arabatzis

Addresses: Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 68200, Orestiada, Greece

Abstract: This paper concerns the management and development of natural resources using citizens' participation in decision-making procedures. The study examines the economic growth of gateway communities in the Amvrakikos Wetlands National Park with the use of a structured questionnaire and through personal interviews. Simple random sampling was used as a method. The case study constitutes an approach used to examine local people's views concerning the various characteristics of the broader area, their living standards, as well as the sectors they wanted existing and future developments to be based upon. Through the research results, it is acknowledged that local people consider employment opportunities to be inadequate. They think that local development is based, partly, on the primary sector. Whereas, local people wish the primary sector to be enhanced along with the secondary, they want industry development and a tertiary sector, with the provision of services and tourism.

Keywords: protected areas; national parks; Amvrakikos wetlands; sustainable development; local development; sustainable management; tourism infrastructure; local people; services; cluster analysis; factor analysis; natural resources; environmental management; conservation; economic crisis; Greece; citizen participation; decision making.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGE.2013.058559

International Journal of Green Economics, 2013 Vol.7 No.4, pp.374 - 389

Published online: 13 Sep 2014 *

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