Applying Integrated Nature Conservation Management: Visitor Management and Monitoring ofWinter Recreation Activities Focusing Grouse Species in Berchtesgaden National Park - Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions: Southeastern Europe - page 239

Chapter 20
Applying Integrated Nature Conservation
Management: Visitor Management
and Monitoring of Winter Recreation Activities
Focusing Grouse Species in Berchtesgaden
National Park

Sabine Hennig and Michaela Künzl

Abstract Modern nature conservation management must act as an interface
between recreation and nature, i.e. nature conservation and its objectives. Therefore
visitor management plays a key role. The acceptance and successful implementa-
tion of integrated visitor management measures depends on well-founded data on
recreation and nature, and an extensive knowledge and understanding of both. This
is provided by visitor monitoring, which today combines methods of data collec-
tion as well as computer-based processes like data modelling, statistical analysis
and spatial analysis (using, e.g., databases and Geographical Information Systems,
GIS). For protected area management the integration of different methods helps to
identify possible impact of land use on nature and supports decision making. For
European mountain protected areas, the application of diverse methods is of spe-
cial importance: Regions like the Alps, the Carpathian Mountains, and the Balkan
Mountains on the one hand side are essential destinations for recreation, on the
other hand side they are regions, nature conservation activities focus on. But how
does integration of management and monitoring as well as the combination of meth-
ods occur in practice? This chapter gives an example on handling winter recreation
and wildlife protection in the Alpine Berchtesgaden National Park (Germany).

Keywords Protected areas · Nature conservation · Visitor management and

monitoring · Ecological impact and conflicts · Wildlife disturbance · GIS

20.1 Introduction and Background

For today's “leisure society” nature and landscape play a major role. Enjoying
nature is a main purpose of vacation, leisure and recreation (Opachowski, 1999 ;
Wagles et al., 2002 ). Particularly, nature-based recreation showed growth potential
in the last years: An increasing number of persons perform an increasing number