Annex 1.3 Sector Report Recreation
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ANNEX 1.3 SECTOR REPORT RECREATION Prague European Workshop Wageningen University July 2017 Lecturers B. van Vliet C. Oonk S. Rickebusch Sector members Carolin Wilken Davide Angelucci Hadija Nagujja Irene Peeters Masooma Batool Petra Kunovska i Sector Report: Recreation TABLE OF CONTENTS List of figures ................................................................................................................................................................................. iii 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 2 Current situation ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 People ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1.1 Contribution of ES to recreation ........................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.2 How do people influence the ES for recreational activities in the Soutok area? ............................ 4 2.1.3 People's perception on the recreational quality .......................................................................................... 4 2.2 Nature ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 Important ES ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Which natural features are valued by people? ............................................................................................. 7 2.2.3 How do ES influence the recreational activities in the Soutok area? ................................................... 7 2.3 Economy ............................................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3.1 How do businesses (in the recreational sector) make use of the benefits provided by the ES in the Soutok area? ............................................................................................................................................................. 8 2.3.2 What impact do businesses have on recreation related to ES in the Soutok area? ..................... 9 2.3.3 To what extent do people feel like they profit from recreational activities in the area? ........... 10 3 SWOT analysis .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Strengths ............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 3.2 Weaknesses ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.3 Opportunities ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.4 Threats ................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 4 Sectoral input for ecosystem services management ................................................................................................ 15 5 Siscussion and recommendation ..................................................................................................................................... 16 5.1 Limitations of research ................................................................................................................................................. 17 5.2 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................................................... 17 6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 7 References ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 ii Sector Report: Recreation LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Recreational activities in the Soutok area in the south of Prague Figure 2. Relation of ES provided by Soutok area and well-being of people Figure 3. Important facilities in the Soutok area Figure 4 Appreciation of recreational possibilities in relation to area of living Figure 5. Occupation vs frequent visit in Soutok area Figure 6. Emotionally connectedness to the Soutok area per age group Figure 7. Contribution of area to economy of people Figure 8. SWOT analysis of recreation in the Soutok area Figure 9. Possible future developments for recreation in the Soutok area iii Sector Report: Recreation 1 INTRODUCTION In recent years, recreation has gained more importance all over the world - the spending per person for leisure activities increased steadily, thus creating greater economic influence. AP (1986) defines recreation as ‘experiences and activities chosen and pursued by the individual in his/her free time; the basis being that the experience sought and activities pursued, in the real sense of the word, 're-creates' the individual so that he or she may be refreshed to enable him/her to resume daily obligations, whatever those may be’ Millennium ecosystem assessment (2005) recognises recreation as one of the cultural ecosystem services that evoke human emotions as a result of people connecting with nature as well as built environments such as cultivated landscapes and infrastructures. Both people and natural processes are tightly linked with each other in the concept of ecosystem services. They engage themselves in recreational outdoor activities for many reasons such as; relaxation, mental or spiritual well-being, experience nature and landscape, environmental knowledge enrichment and to socialize with others. Currently, however, there remains a relative lack of research on public attitudes and understanding about ecosystem services and the related benefits (Smith, et al., 2011). Therefore, there is need to incorporate an understanding of people’s attitudes and perceptions about ecosystem services into natural resource planning and management. In this report, the analysis of the current situation of recreation in relation to ecosystem services in Soutok area has been conducted. The report is based on data collected through expert interviews, surveys and observation in the Soutok area. The report introduces identification of the current ecosystem services in the Soutok area, using the sustainability pillars (people, environment and economy), provides a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for the area with best and bad practises proposed, possible future situations and final sections including recommendations for both IPR and general public, limitations and conclusions. Background Information The city of Prague is characterized by a mix of modern and old (industrial or monumental) buildings as a relic from past communist times (Sykora, 1992). Since the beginning of post-communist transition in 1990, a shift has taken place from concentration of investments mainly in the historic centre, more towards suburbs in the outer city. During the second half of the 1990s, suburbanization has become the most important process of urban change (Sykora, 2007). Even though the green space in Prague covers around 17% of the total area, some areas lack sufficient natural environment for human-related activities. As a result, many Prague citizens have alternative houses in the outskirts of the city to escape the city over the weekends. Most of the houses date back to the end of War World II (Sykora, 1992). In total, there are over 100,000 homes in the metropolitan region of Prague that are used during weekends by people who want to escape from city life (Vagner, 2002). Not only these weekend trips are important for the Prague citizens, but one-day recreational activities for citizens become prominent when looking at the population density of 2,582 people per sq. kilometre (Hernandez, 2014). 1 Sector Report: Recreation The Soutok area, located in the south of Prague and surrounded by the river Vltava and Berounka and the villages/districts VelkáChuchle, Lahovice, Lipence, Zbraslav, Černošice and Radotín, could offer a great opportunity for recreational activities (see Figure 1). The area is characterized by untouched natural areas, in combination with agricultural fields and a few recreational activities such as a golf course. The quality of nature-based recreation is based on the state of nature and therefore it is crucial to assess which natural features benefit or oppose recreational possibilities. Figure 1. Recreational activities in the Soutok area in the south of Prague 2 Sector Report: Recreation Reason for study