5. The Šumava NP

Although Czech scholars had a limited access to the Bohemian Forest, which remained largely unexplored until the 1990s, they were aware that it contained many rare organisms and suggested the establishment of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area (Šumava PLA) already in 1963. At that time, there was no political desire for establishing the Šumava NP. However, the idea was not forgotten and preparation of the new national park started very soon after the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. The establishment of the Šumava NP in 1991 was recognised to be a good solution for this marginal region of great natural value. At the same time, in 1990, the former Šumava PLA was included in the list of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR) and the Šumava peatlands became an important Ramsar site [14].

The Šumava NP (68,500 ha) was established in the most valuable parts of the Šumava PLA: in its central parts and along the national border. The remaining area (99,624 ha) of the Šumava PLA became a buffer zone of the NP (Figure 1). Unlike many other national parks, including the Bavarian Forest NP, some municipalities and their properties are parts of the Šumava NP. There is currently less than 1000 permanent residents living in six villages located inside the Šumava NP and land administered by 16 other municipalities partly overlaps with the area of the Šumava NP. The original concept assumed that the large area of the highest conservation value and least affected by humans, partly adjacent to the Bavarian Forest NP, would be strictly protected in the newly established NP. Development was to be more strictly regulated in this core zone than in the buffer area of the Šumava PLA, where a mixture of development and conservation was welcomed, particularly in the villages neglected for decades. However, this concept was implemented only in the initial years of the Šumava NP [14].

Since the establishment of the national parks, tourism in the adjoining rural communities has developed from its modest beginnings to a supporting pillar of employment and income. According to the study by Job et al. [20], the BFNP is an important component of the regional economy. With 760,000 visitors per year, the BFNP is the region's most frequented attraction. As much as 67% of guests to the BFNP stay here overnight, the remaining 33% are day guests, local people and day trippers who come from their homes. The seasonal changes of these visitor numbers confirm the seasonal pattern of tourists in the region: most come in the summer and winter seasons and there are lower numbers in the off-peak months [21]. The highest numbers of visitors in the summer season are during July. The majority of the visitors come from Germany. Only 3.9% were foreigners, mainly from neighbouring countries, such as the Czech Republic, Austria or the Netherlands. The share of the tourism held in the BFNP provides the region with an occupation equivalent to 940 people and an additional 200 full-time jobs in the national park authority [20]. A comparison of the costs and benefits of the national park shows that the benefits definitely compensate for the costs that occur. The government spends 12 million Euro per year in the national park. This sum should, however, be seen alongside with the total number of jobs the park creates: 200 employees in the national park administration and 939 full time equivalents indirectly related to the national park—a total of 1139 jobs. Every Euro that the government invests in the national park is more than doubled by the amount spent in the park by its

Although Czech scholars had a limited access to the Bohemian Forest, which remained largely unexplored until the 1990s, they were aware that it contained many rare organisms and suggested the establishment of the Šumava Protected Landscape Area (Šumava PLA) already in 1963. At that time, there was no political desire for establishing the Šumava NP. However, the idea was not forgotten and preparation of the new national park started very soon after the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. The establishment of the Šumava NP in 1991 was recognised to be a good solution for this marginal region of great natural value. At the same time, in 1990, the former Šumava PLA was included in the list of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BR) and the Šumava peatlands became an important Ramsar site [14]. The Šumava NP (68,500 ha) was established in the most valuable parts of the Šumava PLA: in its central parts and along the national border. The remaining area (99,624 ha) of the Šumava PLA became a buffer zone of the NP (Figure 1). Unlike many other national parks, including the Bavarian Forest NP, some municipalities and their properties are parts of the Šumava NP. There is currently less than 1000 permanent residents living in six villages located inside the Šumava NP and land administered by 16 other municipalities partly overlaps with the area of the Šumava NP. The original concept assumed that the large area of the highest conservation value and least affected by humans, partly adjacent to the Bavarian Forest NP, would be strictly protected in the newly established NP. Development was to be more strictly regulated in this core zone than in the buffer area of the Šumava PLA, where a mixture of development

visitors [21].

5. The Šumava NP

42 National Parks - Management and Conservation

Long-lasting debates on the future of nature conservation in the Bohemian Forest are linked with discussions on zoning of the Šumava NP [22]. Unfortunately, the fact that zoning is just a very important tool of conservation, rather than a goal is currently not included in these discussions. The Article 4 of the Czech Government Regulation No. 163/1991 of March 20, 1991, which established the Šumava NP and set the conditions for its protection, states:


The aim was to preserve or restore natural ecosystem processes and limit human intervention into the natural environment to maintain this state. Since the establishment of the Šumava NP, its zonation has undergone significant changes, however (Figure 3).

Initially, Šumava NP zonation mostly accepted the international concept of zoning as a basic tool for scaling the value and protection of the NP interior. Fifty-four units of Zone I (Figure 3a) included a mosaic of habitats and isolated occurrences of mires, habitats of the highest value, often surrounded by forests, which were partly affected by forestry in the past. Most of the best places, including natural reserves protected long before the establishment of the Šumava NP (e.g., Modravské slatě, Chalupská slať, Jezerní slať, Trojmezná) were included in Zone I. Many of them were maintained without direct human intervention for decades.

In 1995, there was a change in the leadership of the national park, which brought about a change in the concept of NP management [22]. The size of Zone I was reduced and the original 54 units were further fragmented into 135 smaller ones (Figure 3b). The main reason was a strong desire for active management, mainly the logging of bark beetle-infested trees. The new definition of Zone I was based primarily on forest typology and this zone included large peat bogs and old forest fragments, which were supposed to be ecologically stable and highly resistant to natural disturbances (primarily bark beetles infestation). However, some units of Zone I were too small for natural processes. Also many valuable habitats, particularly smaller raised bogs and waterlogged spruce forests, were excluded from Zone I and transferred to Zone II, where then standard forestry practices were applied.

Since 1998, cutting of bark-beetle infected tress and cleaning of uprooted ones were allowed in many units of Zone I. This was strongly criticised by experts, representatives from NGOs and international organisations like IUCN and Ramsar Committee. In spring 2004, the Czech Minister of Environment ordered preparation of a new zonation following the international experts' recommendations. The new proposal included extension of Zone I to 39% of the Šumava NP area. Its main goals were respecting natural conditions and minimising negative effects associated with fragmentation of Zone I (Figure 3c). Unfortunately, negotiations with local communities and politicians were not successful and this zonation was not officially approved, despite many round-table discussions and public meetings.

new management plan or regulation of visitor numbers and their access to certain places) has shown that local representatives often make obstinate claims, instead of presenting reasoned arguments and objections. They very often alternated their opinion, which caused an increas-

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The above-mentioned problems are remarkable examples of the malfunctioning of the council of the Šumava NP, a consultative and initiative body according to the Act 114/1992 (on nature and landscape protection), and the ambiguous attitudes of the Czech Ministry of Environment. The on-going debate intensified after the Kyrill windstorm in January 2007, which uprooted hundreds of thousands of trees in mountain spruce forests. After Kyrill, a non-intervention management approach was finally suggested for some parts of the Šumava NP, but this was not always mandatory and the final decision was often left to local managers and/or owners, as only a part of the park area is owned by state and the remaining part

Ten years after the Kyrill windstorm, at the beginning of 2017, passing the bill on national parks in Czechia [23] is giving a hope that the core zones in the most valuable Czech national park will cover at least 50% of its area in the future (Figure 3d). With this new legislation

1. Natural zone: covering large areas dominated by natural ecosystems—non-intervention

2. Close-to-natural zone: covering part of the national park, where ecosystems were partly

3. Zone of concentrated care: where strongly changed ecosystems exist and long-term active

4. Zone of cultural landscape: covering built-up areas, designated for their sustainable

A new zonation of the ŠNP and new management plan are currently under preparation and

The Šumava NP is a significant socio-economic factor in the region. Similar results to the BFNP about importance of the national park for the local economy (see Section 4) can be observed also in the Šumava NP, though hard data have not yet been collected. A new transboundary project for monitoring socio-economical aspects is now in progress. Dickie et al. [2] performed a socioeconomic study of the pros and cons of expanding wilderness zones in the Šumava NP.

1. Adoption of draft Bills that would declassify protected areas and enable developments (e.g., ski lift development) within some of the Park's most valuable habitats for wildlife.

2. Adoption of proposals to expand the wilderness area in the Park's core with associated tourism opportunities and compared their economic impacts for the ŠNP with the scenario of continuation of current management. They arrived at the following conclusions.

successful negotiation with local representatives is a big challenge for the next months.

ing lack of mutual trust between them and the NP Authority.

framework, zonation of the national park will recognise four zones:

They considered two potential future management scenarios:

is privately owned.

management is planned here;

affected by human activities;

management is planned;

development.

Figure 3. Zonation of the Šumava National Park. A: 1991-1995, B: 1995-now, C: zonation suggested in 2004, not adopted, D: currently suggested zonation.

The ever-repeating picture is that ecologists prefer non-intervention management in the core zone of this NP and argue that logging in these stands of mountain spruce negatively affects biodiversity, while natural disturbances promote biodiversity [8]. On the other hand, traditional foresters who are opponents of the national park concept and various politicians promote logging of bark beetle-infested trees, which results in a reduction in the area of the nonintervention core zone. This controversy resulted in a lack of a long-term management strategy for the Šumava NP.

The history of the ŠNP that lasts more than 25 years reveals several reasons why international (IUCN) standards were not successfully implemented there. Experience of the endless negotiations concerning the new zonation proposal and several other important documents (e.g., new management plan or regulation of visitor numbers and their access to certain places) has shown that local representatives often make obstinate claims, instead of presenting reasoned arguments and objections. They very often alternated their opinion, which caused an increasing lack of mutual trust between them and the NP Authority.

The above-mentioned problems are remarkable examples of the malfunctioning of the council of the Šumava NP, a consultative and initiative body according to the Act 114/1992 (on nature and landscape protection), and the ambiguous attitudes of the Czech Ministry of Environment. The on-going debate intensified after the Kyrill windstorm in January 2007, which uprooted hundreds of thousands of trees in mountain spruce forests. After Kyrill, a non-intervention management approach was finally suggested for some parts of the Šumava NP, but this was not always mandatory and the final decision was often left to local managers and/or owners, as only a part of the park area is owned by state and the remaining part is privately owned.

Ten years after the Kyrill windstorm, at the beginning of 2017, passing the bill on national parks in Czechia [23] is giving a hope that the core zones in the most valuable Czech national park will cover at least 50% of its area in the future (Figure 3d). With this new legislation framework, zonation of the national park will recognise four zones:


A new zonation of the ŠNP and new management plan are currently under preparation and successful negotiation with local representatives is a big challenge for the next months.

The Šumava NP is a significant socio-economic factor in the region. Similar results to the BFNP about importance of the national park for the local economy (see Section 4) can be observed also in the Šumava NP, though hard data have not yet been collected. A new transboundary project for monitoring socio-economical aspects is now in progress. Dickie et al. [2] performed a socioeconomic study of the pros and cons of expanding wilderness zones in the Šumava NP. They considered two potential future management scenarios:

The ever-repeating picture is that ecologists prefer non-intervention management in the core zone of this NP and argue that logging in these stands of mountain spruce negatively affects biodiversity, while natural disturbances promote biodiversity [8]. On the other hand, traditional foresters who are opponents of the national park concept and various politicians promote logging of bark beetle-infested trees, which results in a reduction in the area of the nonintervention core zone. This controversy resulted in a lack of a long-term management strategy

Figure 3. Zonation of the Šumava National Park. A: 1991-1995, B: 1995-now, C: zonation suggested in 2004, not adopted,

The history of the ŠNP that lasts more than 25 years reveals several reasons why international (IUCN) standards were not successfully implemented there. Experience of the endless negotiations concerning the new zonation proposal and several other important documents (e.g.,

for the Šumava NP.

D: currently suggested zonation.

44 National Parks - Management and Conservation


#### 5.1. Declassification of the protected areas and enabling developments within some of the Park's most valuable habitats for wildlife

The proposals in the draft Bills have the potential to generate employment through ski lift development, but much of this activity will use imported labour and/or be short-term (e.g., associated with construction work). The financial viability of this development is uncertain for a number of reasons, including: likely requirements to compensate for damage to protected habitats, reduced future snow cover due to climate change, and competition to attract sufficient visitors to use the ski lift. The economic impacts of the adoption of the draft Bills (and, to a lesser extent, of continuing with current management) would also include negative effects on current nature tourism activity and on its long-term potential to expand. Currently, and certainly if the proposed plans in the draft Bill are adopted, the value of the NP as an area of wilderness and high-quality ecosystems would be reduced. This would weaken one of ŠNP's key selling points as a tourism and recreation destination. The opportunity for international branding of the national park based on these ecosystems would be diminished. This damage to ecosystems would go against the views of the 75% of the Czech population who agree that it is important to halt the loss of biodiversity because we have a moral obligation to look after nature.

6. Transboundary cooperation

cross-border trails.

primarily on the following:

(http://www.nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de).

systems are coordinated and bilingual.

Landscape Area and the Bavarian Forest Nature Park.

With the legendary summit meeting of Czech, Austrian and German nature conservationists on the Dreisessel peak the discussions about a large forested national park in the heart of the European continent began and have continued until today. Leading nature conservationists such as Hubert Weinzierl, the popular Professor Bernhard Grzimek, and the President of the German League for Nature Conservation (DNR), Wolfgang Engelhardt, supported the idea

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Another 30 years were needed to open the Iron Curtain. With great enthusiasm, the two national park authorities established practical, though informal collaboration from the very beginning in 1991, when the Šumava NP was established [17]. Currently, the main partners involved in transboundary cooperation in BFNP & ŠNP are: Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic, Ministry of Environment and Public Health of the State of Bavaria, Šumava National Park Authority, and Bavarian Forest National Park Authority. Since 1999, crossborder cooperation has been based on the Memorandum on Cooperation between ŠNP and BFNP, which was signed by the State Ministers responsible for the respective national parks. In the meantime, several supplements were signed, e.g., regarding park management and new

As already mentioned, there is a long tradition of transboundary cooperation [24]. In order to achieve the common objectives for this integrated area, cross-border cooperation has focused

• First joint information centre: The information centre was built at Bučina, one of the main points of entry to the ŠNP from the BFNP. This was the first joint project. Bilingual displays on the national park concept, development of protected areas, landscape succession, national park regulations and, above all, visitor opportunities are presented there. • Transboundary public transport system: In 1996, the two national parks were enriched as a holiday area with the introduction of public transport systems. In the Bavarian section, 'hedgehog buses' are operating since May 1996, linking all the park's important visitor facilities and sites with the surrounding towns and villages. A public transport system was also established in the ŠNP in the same year. The two services use buses that run on low-emission natural gas or bio-gasoline fuels. The timetables of both public transport

• Historical border train station to cross-border information office: Following the ceremonious inauguration of the restored historical border train station in Bayerisch Eisenstein/ Alžbětín by the two former State Ministers, a cross-border information office was set up, offering bilingual information on both national parks and also the Šumava Protected

• Coordination and training of ranger services: Ranger services are coordinated on both sides of the frontier in regular meetings. In addition to providing professional training for

#### 5.2. Adoption of proposals to expand the wilderness area in the Park's core with associated tourism opportunities

Pro-wilderness development would allow economic opportunities to be pursued to promote nature-based tourism at new locations and activities around an expanded non-intervention zone, while not undermining the ecological integrity of the NP. This tourism offer is in keeping with visitor's preferences, and can exploit global growth in ecotourism activity. The best access points to the Šumava NP's wilderness are currently regarded as being "full" in that further increases in visitors would damage the wilderness experience which draws visitors. Therefore, there is perceived to be demand for a larger number of carefully managed access points to a larger wilderness area.

Local benefits could be enhanced through nature-based tourism development that is spread throughout the communities in and around the park. This would not conflict with the park's wild image that attracts visitors, and this visitor market could grow with support from expanded marketing activity. The potential local economic benefits from the pro-wilderness development option include: maintaining and expanding employment in management of the National Park's habitats, visitor facilities and access points; increased nature-based tourism trade in the villages within and surrounding the ŠNP; increased opportunities to attract financing for local economic development, and for the NP's management, both internationally and locally; a greater proportion of value-added in the tourism offer being generated within the local community, meaning more income can be retained locally and support greater indirect economic activity, and maintaining forestry employment.
