Uso público de las áreas naturales protegidas españolas y su efecto sobre sus zonas de influencia socioeconómica

Résumé

Tourism is an important driver of economic development worldwide, with an extraordinary growth rate. Thus, for several decades, it has been impossible to understand the tourism industry without considering the concept of sustainability. Within sustainable tourism, rural and nature tourism is one of the most popular forms of tourism in recent years, with protected natural areas being one of the main destinations. One of the greatest challenges affecting the management of protected areas is the assumption of the costs derived from conservation by the local population. In this sense, nature tourism or rural tourism is an excellent tool for defraying the costs inherent to environmental conservation and compensating local populations for the losses associated with the legal limitations imposed. However, this tourism can become a double-edged sword, as it is necessary to consider the negative externalities caused by the tourism industry, which can be even more important in this type of enclaves. It is, therefore, necessary to find a balance between environmental conservation and socio-economic development to achieve the sustainability of these rural areas. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this doctoral thesis, consisting of three scientific articles, is to examine the public use and rural development experienced in the municipalities affected by the declaration of national parks in Spain between 2009 and 2019.