From inflexible national legislation to flexible localgovernance: management practices in the PelisterNational Park, Republic of Macedonia

摘要

The involvement of local people in- pro-tected area management a key- factor in thesustainable and efficient protection of wildlife; andan economically preferable approach for the effectiveeveryday care and protection of the environment.This paper aims to explore:the community participa-tion and protected area management challenges facedby national park authorities in developing countries;through a case study of the Pelister National Park inthe Republic of Macedonia. The paper focuses on themultiple social, economic and political expressions offlexibility in national park. management at the localscale: These examinations are based on field researchin Pelister, executed in the summer of 2006, .and involving 20 hi-depth interviews with local :policy-makers, nature protection experts: and local inhabit-ants, as well as a questionnaire survey of. 140residents of three villages -in and around the park(Nizhepole, Malovishta. and Brajchino).