Report on the results from the implementation of the methodological framework in two intervention areas
The methodological framework that was developed in Del 3.2 of WP3 of the Project BIO2CARE, includes all necessary steps-actions and guidance to estimate and assess the Carrying Capacity and other holistic environmental indicators-footprints in protected areas. During this process already available methodologies were adapted according to protected areas’ needs and procedures were simplified so that in the future decision makers and relevant agents can utilize BIO2CARE framework by importing predefined data. The aforementioned framework provides the management bodies with a more holistic point of view regarding the current situation analysis and assists them to structure a strategic planning development in their area of responsibility.
The aim of this report is to implement in practice the methodological framework that was developed in WP3 / Del3.2 in the two Study Areas of the Project:
- National Park of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece (NP-EMATH) (Study Area 1), and
- Rila National Park of Bulgaria (RNPD) including the catchment area of the river basin of Blagoevgradska Bistrica (Study Area 2).
In Chapters 2 and 3 the data needed for the implementation, respective calculations and comprehensive results per indicators are presented. Building upon the results, and international literature specific actions of improvement are proposed in Chapter 4 that can help improve the Carrying Capacity, Ecological Footprint, Carbon Footprint and Water Footprint of an area. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to evaluate different scenarios and assess the impact of alternative anthropogenic activities to the environmental status of the examined areas. In Chapter 5 an attempt is made to compare the results of the methodological framework with similar studies to check its validity. The key conclusions are summarized in Chapter 6.