Damir Demonja, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser on Permanent Position, from the Department for International Economic and Political Relations, Institute for Development and International Relations, IRMO, Zagreb, together with Vladimir Stojanović, PhD, Full Professor, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Maja Mijatov, PhD, Assistant, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Jelena Dunjić, PhD, Assistant, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management and Sanja Tišma, PhD, Senior Scientific Adviser on Permanent Position and the headmistress of the Institute for Development and International Relations, IRMO, Zagreb, published a professional scientific article entitled: Concept of ecotourism development in UNESCO biosphere reserves: case studies from Croatia and Serbia / Koncepcija razvoja ekoturizma u UNESCO rezervatima biosfere: Studije slučaja iz Hrvatske i Srbije, in scientific journal „Šumarski list” / “Journal of Forestry Society of Croatia“, indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXP) (consistuent part of WoSCC-a), SCOPUS, CAB Abstracts, Forestry Abstracts, Agricola, Pascal and Geobase. The publisher of the scientific journal „Šumarski list / Journal of Forestry Society of Croatia“ is the Forestry Society of Croatia. The full text is available at: https://www.sumari.hr/sumlist/pdf/202202430.pdf.
Abstract
Ecotourism is a sustainable form of tourism in protected areas that provides support for nature protection and sustainable development of local communities. Biosphere reserves are special areas with a relatively original nature and active socio-economic development, as well as with cultural characteristics that must be in harmony with the ecological environment. Understanding the interaction of environmental, economic and social factors in a biosphere reserve is the basis for setting the concept of sustainable development of ecotourism. Moreover, this paper includes an analysis of the concepts of ecotourism within the protected areas Kopački rit (Croatia) and Gornje Podunavlje (Serbia), in the biosphere reserves Mura – Drava – Dunav (Croatia) and Bačko Podunavlje (Serbia), with the main aim of making a comparative analysis of their organization. The results give key information on nature protection in accordance with the national legislation and international nature protection standards, on nature degradation and protected areas management challenges, on ecotourism, on the link between nature protection and tourism development, on the projects supporting nature protection and ecotourism development as well as involvement of the local community.
