Int. J. Environ. Res., 9(4):1135-1140, Autumn 2015 ISSN: 1735-6865

Ecotourism in Mountains National Park, Between Wishfulness and Reality

Muresianu, M.

Faculty of Geography, Babes-Bolyai University, Clinicilor Street, No. 5, Cluj-Napoca,

Received 2 Oct. 2014; Revised 22 Dec. 2014; Accepted 23 Dec. 2014

ABSTRACT: Established in the nucleus of the Scientific Reservation Pietrosu Mare and set up in 1932 on a surface of 183 hectares, Rodna Mountains National Park (R.M.N.P.) witnessed a remarkable spatial evolution, reaching today a 46 399- hectare territory. The management of this protected area is conducted by the employees of A.R.M.N.P., an administrative structure located in Rodna, Bistri?a-N?s?ud County Even though R.M.N.P.'s values are among the most representative ones, both in Romania and internationally, being included in the worldwide network of biosphere reservations, tourism in this area has not benefitted from an accurate develop- ment proportional to its highly varied natural and anthropogenic potential. Based on statistics and research conducted personally or together with the representatives of the Administration of Rodna Mountains National Park (A.R.M.N.P.), the current study aims at emphasizing the significant contrast between the wishfulness of intense tourism characterized by major touristic influxes and its relatively scarce reality.

Key words:Rodna Mountains National Park,Protected area,Ecotourism,Biodiversity, Sustainable development

INTRODUCTION R.M.N.P. is located in the North of Romania in the in R.M.N.P. is made possible via international airports Oriental Carpathians, (C i a n g ă , 2002) covering a two- Bucharest-Henri Coandã (465 km), Cluj-Napoca (140 third surface of the highest mountains in the km), Târgu-Mure (150 km), train stations Ilva-Micâ, Vi Carpathians' group, Pietrosu Mountains with Pietrosu eu, whileş ro ad transport is accessible on the routes Peak-2303 m (see fig. 1). Baia-Mare-Dej-Rodna (180 km, E58), Baia-Mare-Bor ş a (150 km, DN18D) and Bistri ţ a-Rodna (64km, DN17D). The reality of the place reveals the existence of habitats and ecosystems that are representative of the alpine area specific to high mountain territories. The geodiversity and the geographical specificity consist of 6 516 flora species (some of them, being endemic items, are under strict preservation) and over 3000 fauna species (Iu ş a n, 2011a ), with several invertebrate spe- cies that have not been studied yet (due to their en- demic and relic condition they are under special pro- tection). (Iu ş a n, 2011b) The mountain peaks Ineu (2 279 m) and Pietrosu (2 303m) preserve a glacial land- scape of rare beauty and diversity (20 glacial lakes, Fig. 1. Positioning of Rodna Mountains National cirques, valleys with distinct types of moraines and Park in Romania's geographical space glacial passages, waterfalls whose rapid waters fall over (source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ staggering abysses. The morpho-landscape arsenal of File:Muntii_Rodnei.jpg) the protected area is completed by an endokarst con- The management of this protected area is conducted sisting of over 20 caves, Rodna Mountains holding by the employees of A.R.M.N.P., an administrative struc- the record of absolute interchange, the cave at Izvorul ture located in Rodna, B i s t r i ţ a - N ă s ă u d County. Access Tâu ş o arelor being the deepest in the country (nearly 350 m deep) (Cocean & Dezsi, 2001; Chintâuan, 2000). *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

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From the perspective of the anthropogenic tour- of A.R.M.N.P. (their Management Plan) (Kastenholz et ism potential in R.M.N.P. benefits from a series of ob- al., 1999), the Monograph of A.R.M.N.P.- Biosphere jectives, which through their artistic and historical con- reservation, projects regarding the redressing of some tent add value to this geographical space. Among the vulnerable reservations in the park, monitoring of the anthropogenic tourist objectives in the park's area we chamois, studies about rare elements of biodiversity, may mention the memorial complexes in Co buc, , tourism studies etc., all of them providing correct and , with valuable ethnographic museums: the Eth- relevant conclusions about ecotourism in protected ar- nographic and Mining Museum in Rodna, The Mu- eas. seum of Contemporary Art (MACSB) in Sângeorz-Bâi, The most important and significant elements of our the Border Regiment Museum, the Wooden Churches research consist in our personal investigations, both in Bor a, Moisei, Sângeorz-Bâi and the numerous folk- ş as an active member in the Scientific Board of the loric local events, genuine and spectacular elements of R.M.N.P. and as a contributor of the rangers, with whom traditional clothing (Pâiuş , 2003). The villages located I conducted various investigations throughout the 10 on the marginal frame of the park maintain their ancient years of existence of the A.R.M.N.P (2004-2014). The agripastural traditions and the folds settled in the al- questionnaires distributed to 850 people who visited pine pasture areas preserve ecological practices of the park via the through the 8 gateways took into con- cheese making. In such a geographical framework, gen- sideration some relevant aspects for he dimension and erous in its natural and anthropogenic elements of wide typology of the ecotourism phenomenon in this geo- interest for visitors, ecotourism finds some of the most graphical area. ideal conditions for development. There was one question with the purpose of iden- But in addition an environmental education should tifying the main weaknesses of the area from the tour- be started among the local peoples, and then contin- ists' point of view, and it was addressed in the follow- ued in kindergarten, school, university etc. This is be- ing manner: cause a real protection of nature will be possible only Which do you consider to be the main vulnerabilities when the people will change their mentality and are of the Rodna Mountains National Park considering the aware that they live in nature and not vice versa (Sabo, following aspects? 2011). 1.Access to the protected area 2.Retreat possibilities in case of severe weather condi- MATERIALS & METHODS tions Outside a fair, coherent and productive managerial 3.Accommodation facilities system, the development of tourism in protected natu- 4.Barriers in the case of tourists wanting to spend more ral areas may present a threat to the integrity of eco- leisure time in the area systems and local communities. (Mure ş ianu & Schuster, 5.Disturbing aspects within the park area during the 2012; Cocean et al., 2005). As an answer to the growing visiting of key attractions and sights interest in knowing nature and to the alarm signals trig- 6.Occurring dangers along the trail blazes in the pro- gered in different corners of the world (similar case in tected area Columbia and South Korea) (González, 1995; Choo and 7.Field discovery opportunities of significant details Jamal, 2009), a new ethics of travelling was shaped, related to the RMNP values. under the name of ecotourism, a particular form of tour- ism that stems from the biosphere preservation trend (a All of these attempts to measure the "pulse" possibility of agro-tourism with a promotion of a good (Devesa et al., 2010) of ecotourism in the area of marketing system) (Leco and Hernández,2008; R.M.N.P. were accompanied by various bibliographical McGehee, 2007; Mediano, 2002). resources that refer to the geographical area of this protected park, materials that are included in the bibli- In the case of R.M.N.P. the ecological dimension ography section. of any form of tourism practice is a reality in which ecotourism has become a fundamental landmark of the RESULTS & DISCUSSION sustainable development concept and the protected The monitoring and quantification of tourist in- natural areas must attract visitors, these is important fluxes in the area of R.M.N.P. is an extremely difficult for the cultural facts and for the people (Leco et al., and complicated operation, but, equally important, a 2008) who share such a culture of preservation and very relevant one, as it provides the opportunity to conservation of nature (Vlâdicâ, 2003). In our attempt obtain a reasonable image of a degree of ecotourism to analyze the "state of tourism" in R.M.N.P. and to development in the area, based on a few synthetic indi- disclose the link between possibilities and reality, we cators similar in Spain (Fuentes, 1995). Both personal focused on the managerial and pragmatic documents actions and the rangers' initiatives, students from dif-

1136 Int. J. Environ. Res., 9(4):1135-1140, Autumn 2015 ferent universities along with students assembled in tors in the second case indicate that only 10% of the "Darwin"-type groups allowed us to establish some tourist influx is covered. constant observations throughout the 10 years that The analysis and interpretation of the average val- have passed since the initiation of the A.R.M.N.P. in ues regarding the number of visitors must take into March 2004 until 2013, the last year having complete account the phenomenon of tourist seasonality in statistics. The situation can be presented as follows in P.M.N.R., given the fact that tourists may only benefit the below table and fig. 2. from a 6- month access to the park and the winter sea- It is obvious that, when we compare these figures son has occasional tourists, especially in the buffer to the surface of the park, the 300 km of forest roads zone and the peripheral areas. During the cold season and marked pathways and the real support capacity of (November-April) with large amounts of snow certain the protected area the statistics are modest. The calcu- areas of the park are populated by winter sports practi- lations of the A.R.M.N.P representatives and the ex- tioners (especially skiers). On Christmas and New Year perts in the Ministry of Environment indicate that the the chalets and guesthouses located at the border of area has an optimum capacity to accommodate 4 636 the protected area are animated by tourists willing to visitors per day (Samad, 2008). But our research to- celebrate in fairytale mountainous scenery. gether with the rangers' revealed that during a peak Year 2013, considered the phenomenon of tourist day, on 15th August 2013, the entrances of the 8 gates seasonality, highlights the existence of a "peak" "counted" 850 visitors. throughout July and August (as it show fig. 3), when Based on the calculations of the same experts, when the majority of visitors benefit from paid holidays and we look at the indicators for the two poles of tourism in students are on holiday." R.M.N.P. -Pietrosu Peak with the complex of glacial lakes On August 15th 2013, together with the rangers Iezerele Pietrosului, having the accommodation capac- and a group of voluntary students, we applied ques- ity of 459 visitors per day and the Ineu Peak with the tionnaires to the tourists who visited the R.M.N.P.'s complex of Lala Mare and Lala Mica , having a real geographical space, in view of knowing the following accommodation capacity of 417 visitors per day, the aspects: the frequency of tourists, the type of prac- reality of under 45 visitors in the first case and 39 visi-

Table 1. Number of tourists in R.M.N.P. (2004-2013)

Years 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Number 8645 10211 11110 9800 7805 8205 9608 12301 14925 16600 of tourists

Fig. 2. Evolution of tourist influxes in R.M.N.P. (2004-2013)

1137 Ecoturism Potential in Rodna Mts National Park

Fig. 3. Tourist seasonality in R.M.N.P. (2013) ticed tourism, and the motivational intentions of the entists, undergraduates, graduates and PhD candidates, visit and the discouraging factors of visiting the pro- who visit the park in order to research geodiversity tected area. (geological and geomorphological studies regarding This way, after verifying the answers of the sur- the glacial environment, observations and investiga- veyed tourists we estimate that, in a geographical space tions about flora and fauna, observation of ecotourism confronted to a number of visitors far beyond the real influxes in distinct reservations of the park, study of accommodation capacity, it is rejoicing that 53% of the aspects regarding forestry.) With reference to the pur- surveyed tourists have visited R.M.N.P. several times, pose of scientific research, the analysis of the ques- 26% of them have seen the park twice and only 21% tionnaires (the 18% surveyed tourists) indicated that were visiting the reservation for the first time. This is 61% of them are researching the area in view of design- how the ecological values of the environment deter- ing and writing articles and scientific studies for vari- mined the loyalty of more than two thirds of the visitors ous magazines, 19% were doing research for their and with a many benefits from tourism in this segment graduation theses, 11% for Master dissertations, and (Frochot, 2005). 6% for European funded research projects and 3% were From the perspective of motivational resorts and, carrying out investigation for doctoral theses. implicitly, of the type of practiced tourism, we can ob- The section in the questionnaire referring to dis- serve that over half of the 850 surveyed tourists choose couraging factors in visiting the protected area pro- hiking due to the incredible scenery beauty (51%), sec- vided interesting answers from the following catego- ondly, about a fifth (18%) of the visitors includes sci- ries of responders (see fig. 4):

Fig. 4. Discouraging factors in visiting R.M.N.P.

1138 Int. J. Environ. Res., 9(4):1135-1140, Autumn 2015

- precarious state of access roads and the unsuitable Ciangâ, N. (2002). România. Geografia Turismului (I). Presa maintenance of trail blazes: 37%; Universitarâ Clujeanâ Publishing, Cluj-Napoca, 67-69. - the reduced number of tourist retreats 18%; - lack of opportunities (leisure complexes in the buffer Cocean, P., Dezsi, ş . (2001). Prospectare ş i geoinformare areas): 14%; turisticâ. Presa Universitarâ Clujeanâ Publishing, Cluj- - the reduced number of accommodation facilities in Napoca. some of the peripheral areas of the park: 12%; Cocean, P., Vlâsceanu, G., Negoescu, B. (2005). Geografia -the presence of unattended dogs at sheep and cattle Generalâ a Turismului, Meteor Press, Bucure ş ti, 52-54. folds: 8%; Devesa, M., Laguna, M. and Palacios, A. (2010). The role of -the sudden change of temperature and the frequency motivation in visitor satisfaction: Empirical evidence in rural of storms in summer: 7%; tourism. Tourism Manage., 31 (4), 547-552. -the reduced number of attending-guides (rangers, em- ployees of A.R.M.N.P.): 4% Frochot, I. (2005). A benefit segmentation of tourists in rural areas: A scottish perspective. Tourism Manage., 26 (3), 335- As a playing ground for the practitioners of 346. ecotourism, R.M.N.P. is at a stage when, as a result of Fuentes, R. (1995), Análisis de las principales características promotion and marketing actions of the A.R.M.N.P. de la demanda de turismo rural en España [Analysis of the employees, there was significant increase in the tourist main characteristics of the rural tourism demand in Spain], influxes between 2011 and 2013. However, this is far Estudios Turísticos, 127, 19-52. from the exceptional ecotourism potential of the pro- González, P. (1995). Western Mediterranean land-use sys- tected area, as well as its support capacity and it didn't tems as antecedents for semiarid America. (In B. L. Turner II, show a development of agro-tourism A. Gómez, F. González & F. Di Castri (Eds.), Global land (Hernández et al., 2011). use change. A perspective from the Columbian perspective Madrid: CSIC, 131-149. CONCLUSIONS Hernández, J. M., Campón, A. M., Leco, F. and Pérez, A. Being part of the highest mountains in the North- (2011). Agricultural diversification and the sustainability of ern Carpathians of Romania, R.M.N.P. is a biosphere agricultural systems: Possibilities for the development of reservation characterized by numerous, varied and agrotourism. Environ. Eng. Manag. J., 10 (12), 1911-1921. unique elements of geodiversity, having, implicitly, an Iu?an, C. (2011a). Ghidul speciilor ?i habitatelor de interes enormous ecotourism potential. comunitar din R.M.N.P., Cluj-Napoca. The relatively precarious state of access elements Iu?an, C. (2011b). Monography-Biosphere Reservation. in the area (roads, trails, trail blazes etc.) along with the Todesco Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 10-11. scarce funding of A.R.M.N.P. and implicitly with the Kastenholz, E., Davis, D. and Paul, G. (1999). Segmenting existence of a reduced number of employees, together tourism in rural areas: The case of North and Central Portu- with the central and local authorities' indifference (from gal. J. Travel Res., 37 (4), 353-363. the Ministry of Environment) generates the lack of in- Leco, F. and Mateos, A. B. (2006). Sistemas agrarios vestment in tourism infrastructure of the protected area tradicionales, medio ambiente y desarrollo sostenible: la dehesa (tourist retreats, ecology research bases, leisure facili- como hecho geográfico y cultural [Traditional farming sys- ties for sports and leisure tourism, belvedere turrets, tems, environment and sustainable development: pasture as rare fauna observation points and, as a consequence, geographical and cultural fact]. Norba. Revista de Geografía, the diminishing of ecotourism influxes. 11, 165-182. The significant contrast between the surface of the park, Leco, F., Pérez, A. and Hernández, J. M. (2008). Agrotourism enormous ecotourism potential, increase accommoda- Strategic Plan for the Region of Extremadura. Regional Gov- tion capacity (all representing wishful intentions) and ernment of Extremadura. the reality of 10% influxes can only be averted through McGehee, N. G. (2007). 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