National Parks : Biodiversity, Conservation & Tourism

National Parks (NPs) are mainly designed to protect the remaining "wilderness" of a given country and have primarily focused on the conservation of extraordinary areas or emblematic species. National parks have many roles among which "preserving nature" has become a matter of considerable social, political, economical and scientific concern. One of the major problems concerning National Parks is how to preserve their landscapes and biodiversity. While the diversity of plants and animals can be experimentally assessed, their protection involves the maintenance of their ecosystems and periodic monitoring. Any change in an environment can certainly have some effect on the plants and animals living there and so, the consequences of changes at a variety of scales is hard to predict although variations often lead to a reduction or homogenisation of animal and plant diversity. In the long run, the positive role played by National Parks for nature conservation and tourism will be maintained if we ensure that social, economic and environmental goals are closely aligned. This new important book gathers the latest research in this field.