Discussion Papers 2008.
Socio-Economic Analysis of the Carpathian Area 33-44. p.
4 Environmental management, risk prevention, natural and
cultural heritage in the Carpathian area
4.1 Water management, water pollution and flood control
The Carpathian area has a rather varied surface with high and medium-high
mountains, forelands and basins in between. This fact determines water manage-
ment in the region as regards the ability of the area to supply the demand for wa-
ter. The variety of configurations in this mountainous terrain makes the landscape
rather heterogeneous. Thus, some parts of the region have ample water supply,
while others have to cope with shortage of water. Water bases with abundant sup-
ply concentrated in one place are located either in stretches along the river valleys
or in patches over the karstic areas where significant quantities of good quality
karst water can be found. The watershed between the Black Sea and the Baltic
Sea draws along the North-western Carpathians, and this fact highly influences
the spatial structure of water management. The rivers Oder and Vistula flow into
the Baltic Sea, the Danube and its tributaries take the water of most rivers in the
Carpathian into the Black Sea. The river Dniester also flows into the Black Sea
catching water from the rivers of the North-eastern Carpathians along Ukraine.
Such huge water supply is an extremely valuable natural resource. From the
1960s and 1970s onwards it was, however, exposed to great hazards due to the
impact of various forms of pollution (Table 9).
While the smaller streams, rivers and creeks, of the higher mountains were
very clean and had a high ecological value, the heavy industry with intense water
demand (such as chemical industry) settled along the bigger rivers and caused
very serious damages due to water pollution. The immense ecological disaster of
the river Tisza was part of this process. The burdening of rivers with organic
matter along the industrialized regions in the Carpathian area reached its peak in
the first half of the 1980s. In general the concentration of organic pollution in the
rivers of this area exceeded that of the rivers in Western Europe. River Oder and
its tributaries are heavily polluted, in addition to those flowing from the cachment
area of river Danube, Vah, Nitra, Hron, Sajó, Hornad, Somes, Mureş, Olt, Jiu.
Significant improvement has taken place since recent years in Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Lakes especially in the higher areas of the Car-
pathian Mountains are of great natural value. Approximately 200 pristine glacier-
carved lakes can be found in the North-western Carpathian Mountains.
Subsurface waters are becoming increasingly significant in the water manage-
ment of the region. In the Hungarian territory of the Carpathian Mountains
drinking water is gained mainly via river bank filtration, and stored in 5 large
water bases within the region. The first of these is found on the river Danube, in

Environmental management, Risk Prevention, Natural and Cultural Heritage in the Carpathian Area.
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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
the western periphery of the region (with a theoretical capacity of 100,000 m3 per
day). The second is found in the Ipoly valley (with a capacity of 30,000 m3/day),
functioning as an important reserve for Salgótarján and the settlements in the
Zagyva valley. The third water base is found near Sajószentpéter, the ballast-filled
the Sajó valley, but its water is polluted by the nearby industries and therefore its
use for community purposes is rather limited. The fourth water base is located not
far from here, near the mouth of the river Bodva, with a capacity of 10,000 m3 per
day. The fifth water base is in the ballast-filled Hornad valley. Only half of this
last base lies within the region’s boundaries, the other half belonging to the Great
Plain. About 70% of its 50,000 m3 par day capacity is used primarily to supply of
town Miskolc. This example shows that the large quantity of groundwater sup-
plies near river basins in the Carpathians gain an increasingly important role
mainly due to the fluctuation of stream regime.
Table 9
Overview of the subdivision of the Carpathians into rivers basins and their
characteristics (2006)
River
Total drainage
Drainage area
Proportion
Affected
Estuary
area
within the Carpa-
of the total
Carpathian
(km2)
thians (Study area)
Study area
countries
(km2)
(%)
Danube 817,000 180,095  85.7
All
Carpathian
Black Sea
countries
Dniester 76,860  7,336  3.5
Ukraine  Black
Sea
Vistula 194,000 21,054  10.0 Poland,
Slovak Baltic Sea
Republic, Ukraine
Oder 125,000 1,772 0.8
Czech
Republic,
Baltic Sea
Poland
Source: Implementing an international mountain convention. An approach for the delimitation of
the Carpathian Convention area.
Another important type of ground waters is the karst water that is spatially
concentrated in the limestone covered areas of the Carpathians, where larger
quantities to be found. Nowadays, this valuable source of freshwater supply is
only exploited to a limited extent.
Problems regarding the water supply of the Carpathians are mainly related to
the significant variations in the available water quantity (depending on the amount
of precipitation in dry or rainy years). Another kind of problem is caused by the
strong dependence of the region’s water supply on the water outside the borders

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of the countries embracing the Carpathian Mountains. For example, not more than
about 26–28% of the water of the Sajó, Bodva and Hornád rivers can be used in
Hungary. The example shows how the use of water is limited by the fact that in
the neighbouring countries industrial water has flown back into the rivers in a
highly polluted state for several decades now, therefore no serious improvement
can be expected in the quality of water until the turn of the millennium.
The limitations on the production of good quality water were recognized as
early as the 1980s, and these enforced the introduction of more economic tech-
nologies as far as water use was concerned both in the industry and agriculture. At
the same time, the improvement of the quality of life went together with the con-
struction of water mains in the settlements. By 1988 this significantly increased
the proportion of communal water consumption relative to industrial and agricul-
tural consumption.
Thus, the European Commission’s new Water Framework Directive is of cru-
cial importance from the perspective of the future developments in the water
management of the Carpathian Mountains. The Directive aims at bringing to-
gether land-use policies and water management programmes in this innovative
form of internationally implemented integrated river basin management. As there
Charpathians are a vital source of freshwater in Europe, this process is of great
importance for the Carpathian Mountains. With emphasis added on achieving
good ecological status of water, the implementation of the Directive requires ap-
propriate water management.
4.1.1 Water pollution
The quality of surface waters can be rated as medium. Regarding the permitted
levels of water use our observation is that some streams or sections are over-
loaded. The pollution from rapidly developing settlements near river basins means
an increasing hasard. As far as pollution sensitivity is concerned, certain alluvial
cones providing drinking water are considered particularly sensitive. However,
the entire network of the river valleys in the Carpathians is extremely sensitive to
the hazards of all kinds of pollution. Regarding emission limits to surface waters,
the catchment areas of the rivers as well as the built reservoirs together with
catchment areas have been qualified as protected receivers. The diffuse impact of
pollution sources together with the contaminants washed into streams from agri-
cultural areas – the more and more intensively used chemicals – bring about
hazards in the widening river valleys in mountains of medium height and
especially in the hilly areas. Rivers arriving at the edge of high mountains slow
down, and they start fill up their basin, thus, the risk of dangerous floods
increases. At the same time river basins have been greatly silted up due to the

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36
SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
slowness of the flow. The river takes the characteristics of stagnant water, which
fact leads to the process of eutrophication. The case of the river Sajó, flowing into
Hungary from Slovakia exemplifies this process, because the burdening of the
river continued in Hungary.
The river Sajó has been receiving industrial wastewater and communal sewage
from the surrounding urban areas. Due to the diffuse impacts of pollutants washed
in from agricultural lands the river is also contaminated with agricultural
chemicals. By the late 1960s the river had been polluted to such an extent that it
became most polluted river in Europe, with hardly any wildlife. Thanks to the
domestic and foreign efforts made to improve water quality (construction of water
treatment plants, modernization of industrial technologies, etc.) a slow recovery
could have been observed. Since 1990 a sudden improvement in water quality has
occurred when the paper mill of Gömörhorka was closed down, and this condition
continues to the present day.
In the Hungarian reach of the Sajó, the impact of industrial wastewater and
communal sewage coming from Kazincbarcika and Miskolc is particularly
detrimental for the indices of oxygen and nutrients content of the waters. Since
the construction of the municipal water treatment plant in Miskolc the load on the
river has been reduced thanks to the new biological unit. The process of self-
purification and the diluting effect of the river Hornád have both contributed to
the improvement of water quality. High nutrients content, characterizing all along
the river, has led to instances of eutrophication in recent summers. This process
exemplifies the quality changes in the streams of the Carpathians in its hilly areas
and areas with mountains of medium height.
Elimination of water pollution is particularly difficult due to the fact that the
process of canalization hardly meets the increase in the environmental burdening
from settlements. High costs represent the biggest obstacle in the slow progress of
canalization.
4.1.2 Flood and flood control
Floods have increasingly endangered the environment in the last few decades all,
yet especially the Carpathian region is exposed to such hazards. In the Carpathi-
ans, stream regime influences flood risks as well as other factors of water man-
agement. However, there is a drastic growth in the risks of environmental catas-
trophes rooting in the global climate change. Thus, it is very important to have
enough information regarding the extremely changeable stream regime of rivers
in the Carpathians. It can be classified along three major types. Rivers in the high
mountains have the lowest level of water, when snow almost entirely holds back
precipitation. High water occurs at the beginning of summer, when snow and ice

Environmental management, Risk Prevention, Natural and Cultural Heritage in the Carpathian Area.
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melt in the mountains and high water risk is further increased by the more and
more frequent rainstorms bringing extra amount of precipitation and resulting in
disastrous floods. The lowest water output of rivers in mountains of medium
height also occurs in winter. Snow, however, melts earlier in these areas, thus the
level of water in these rivers advances rapidly and causes the danger of inunda-
tion.
The water output of rivers in hilly areas is the biggest in spring, however, their
level often rises even in winter when the snow melts in the lower areas and there
is little evaporation. At that time the danger of inundation increases. In summer
and fall there is little precipitation, and evaporation is high, therefore the water
output is the lowest at that time.
Flood control in the Carpathians means mainly the construction of dikes that
reach across the borders. The capacity of storing flood waters is relatively small.
Most of the damages caused by floods are due to changes in the use of land, un-
regulated development of urban areas, the economic utilization of flood areas and
the weaknesses of the institutional system. Floods in the Carpathians call the at-
tention to immunent risks of environmental disasters. The modified Vásárhelyi
Plan developed in Hungary could be an example of up-to-date flood control.
4.2 The hazards of deforestation
The forests of the Carpathians are part of Europe’s natural heritage; their ecosys-
tems show a unique genetic diversity and variety of species. Such wealth demands
increased attention and protection. More than 50% (106,183 km2) of the studied
area is forested: 49,44% is broad-leaved forest; 27,43% is coniferous forest; and
23,13% mixed. The largest forested territory belongs to Ukraine, where 91% of
land is forest. 40,9% of Slovakia is forested; its biggest part is broad-leaved for-
ests (58,2%), and the ratio of coniferous forests is 41,8%. In Romania 69% of
forested lands is brad-leaved forests and 31% coniferous. Thanks to the Carpathi-
ans, Romania has an extremely large biodiversity in Europe, with 3,100 indige-
nous plant species of which 60 tree species can be found here.
The ratio of forest areas in Hungary (18.2%) can be rated as medium level in
comparison with the EU member states. (Comparison made in 1990: Magyar Tu-
dománytár [Hungarian Scientific Repository] 2003). The proportion of forest
areas is particularly high in the Hungarian part of the Carpathian region, more
than 52% over the whole territory. In the core areas of the mountains this figure is
much higher, between 88–94% and as low as 25–38% in the basins and river val-
leys. These variations in the ratio are also true, of course, for the constituting
counties (e.g. in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves counties the level of affore-
station is nearly 60%, in Pest and Nógrád counties over 40%).

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
Approximately 65% of the forests are used for economic purposes, where
typical activities include – among others – logging and hunting. Another 34% is
under protection; the long-term protection of these forests is a national or regional
interest.
After the change of regime there were significant changes in the ownership of
the forests in the Carpathians. As a result of market interventions, a large propor-
tion of the region’s forests became private property, while protected areas have
remained state property. For example in Slovakia from 2,002,130 hectares of for-
ested area only 830,555 hectares remained state property. This new ownership
structure makes it more difficult to accomplish the goals of a uniform forest man-
agement in the Carpathians. Felling pursued in the interest of quick profits may
cause serious damage in some areas (e.g. felling precious tree species without
proper replacement, increased danger of erosion due to clear-felling, elimination
of ecological corridors, etc.), therefore forest owners should assume more respon-
sibility for the long-term maintenance of this natural asset. In the past decade, the
so-called “wind-felling” has occurred more and more frequently especially in the
coniferous forests of the high and medium high mountains of the Carpathians.
Wind-felling is deforestation caused by extreme windstorms, as a result of which
felling proceeds almost continuously. Such destructions occur almost everywhere
from the North-western Carpathians to the Southern Carpathians (e.g. High Ta-
tras).
Forest management includes a lot of distinctive activities in the Carpathian re-
gion as well. Besides providing wood, forests have functions that are becoming
more important recently in fields like energetics, environmental protection, wel-
fare and hunting. Changes in the roles of forest have been accelerated within the
region since the second half of the 20th century.
On the one hand, the number and size of national parks, protected landscapes
and conservation areas have increased and, on the other hand, forestries have suf-
fered a gradual narrowing of their scope of activities, while always stricter envi-
ronmental and protective regulations have been introduced setting new limitations
to their work. In the early 1970s the so-called resort forests’used for various rec-
reational purposes (resting, walking, excursions) which are important tourist at-
tractions in the region began to increase both in number and area.
4.2.1 Soil degradation, erosion
The most serious soil degradation processes in the Carpathian region are attrib-
uted to the increasing acidity of the soil Significant acidification has been ob-
served in the vicinity of industrial areas caused by the air pollutants emitted. Such
is the impact of the industrial agglomeration near Ostrava, Katowice, Cracow, the

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valley of the river Vah, the industrial area near Košice, Miskolc, and the industrial
centres in Romania. Erosion caused by the wind hit primarily the plough lands.
Erosion caused by water threatens most of the area (at least 70%) to a great or
medium extent. Deforestation has badly damaged the steeper slopes for some time
now, while flood areas are threatened by the accumulation of heavy metals as
well. Erosion caused by water is very strong in the Carpathians; a large area is
eroded in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in the Eastern and Southern Carpathi-
ans as well as in the territory of the Transylvanian Basin in Romania, in South
Poland and in the Hungarian region of the Carpathians. Thus, there is an increased
risk related to erosion caused by water even compared to the other member states
of the European Union. From an environmental perspective, the long-term effect
of erosion caused by water is the most dangerous. The decrease in the humus
content, the diminishing of the surface soil and the structural deterioration gradu-
ally decreases potential (natural) fertility, adsorptive and buffer capacity as well,
therefore, the soil becomes more sensitive to acidic materials, and gradually loses
its ability to absorb nutrients. This is a great problem in the entire region of the
Carpathians. The fact that mountainous soils that are originally of worse quality
are especially strongly sensitive to the process, further increases the risk. Thus,
the deterioration of the soil indirectly accelerates forest decline (decreasing ab-
sorption of nutrients, spread of various forms of mycosis etc.). The risk of erosion
will supposedly grow progressively.
4.3 The potential impacts of climate change
The entire region of the Carpathians, but especially its southern, south-eastern pe-
ripheries, is particularly threatened by a potential climatic change. This is the area
where the aridity index line (A=1) runs, separating the arid and humid areas in the
climate of plough lands. At present the entire region still belongs to the humid
climate, but a 0.5–1 C increase in temperature would push the line of aridity
index significantly towards the inner parts of the hilly area. This would lead to
marked changes in the climatic optimum of both potential vegetation and vegeta-
tion culture (field crops and certain tree species). Such a modification in the cli-
matic ranges would damage or even destroy the conditions in which field crops
and certain tree species can grow. The most valuable forest vegetation can be
found in the area of the Carpathians. However, the aforementioned aridity index
line makes our climate increasingly changeable. The vulnerability of the forest
ecosystems is further enlarged by the vagueness of the long term climate forecast.
In the case of indigenous leafy hardwood trees there are 80–120-year-long periods
of forest management planning. Harmful effects do not spare pine-forests in the

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
high mountains of the Carpathians. The results of research works justify that
closed forest-lands have to be preserved as long as possible. Damages may be
reduced by means of accumulating biomass, promoting the formation of humus
and introducing natural forest management.
4.4 Air pollution
In the 1950s and 1960s, the extent of air pollution reached unacceptably high
values especially in Eastern-Central European countries, precisely in the exten-
sively industrialized regions of the Carpathian Mountains. The source of pollution
was the heavy industrial basis built from Katowice to Kosice through Miskolc
along the valley of the Jiu river. The most polluted industrial large regions, the
Czech and Polish Silesia, the industrial region in Košice and Miskolc where the
dust and the emission of SO2, NOX and CO2 exceeded many times the emission
norms. A significant part of the air space of the Carpathians was further burdened
because at that time Romanian industry entirely lacked all forms of air filter
equipments. The crisis of these heavy industries in the 1980s and the structural
transformation of the economy triggered by the change of regime led to a consid-
erable decrease in the emission of air pollutants.
This territory including several connecting regions with polluted air divided up
from the 1990s onwards; and traffic became an increasing source of air contami-
nation.
Air pollution affects mainly the densely populated areas and larger settlements
of the Carpathian region. There is a nearly complete overlap between the densely
populated areas and the most polluted ones. The total area is relatively small, but
the number of inhabitants is high. Although air pollution damages agricultural
areas, natural values and material assets as well, it remains primarily a health
problem.
In the last 10 years the formerly dominant industrial (mainly heavy industrial)
and power plant emissions have shown a radically decreasing trend. Their impact,
however, is still observable in some towns, where large industrial plants or power
plants are still in operation. The polluting effect of energy consumption by house-
holds and public institutions is easily proved with the help of data collected in the
heating season, and this effect is quite significant in the larger towns. In the towns
and the vicinity of busy motorways or main roads, traffic is the main cause of air
pollution.
After 2000 the emission of air pollutants decreased significantly. Nevertheless,
the air space around the earlier mentioned industrial regions (Košice, Ostrava,
Miskolc, Cluj and Bihor counties in North Transylvania) is still polluted.

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Immission levels have significantly decreased in mountainous areas (2001
Slovakia: concentration of SO2 on the Chopok 0,90 g (m3). The maximum con-
centration of NOx has become 30% lower than the allowed limit. According to the
forecasted data regarding 2010, subsiding extra sulphur-dioxide will be less than
50 tons/km2 in the Carpathian region in the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine.
Before 1990 this data reached 500 tons/km2 in the most polluted Polish, Czech,
Slovakian and Hungarian regions. Air quality improvement plays a crucial role in
decreasing health damages due to environment pollution, diminishing potential
climate changes, and the risks of forest decline.
By 2004 the number of people living in ‘polluted’ areas decreased considera-
bly as compared to 1997 but there was a sharp increase in the number of those
living in ‘moderately polluted’ areas. On the whole, pollution now affects fewer
people and its concentration is also smaller.
4.5 The environmental impacts of Carpathian industries, transport and
agriculture
The Carpathian region used to be the basis of heavy industry in Eastern-Central
European countries. It was characterized by low technological level and caused
serious environmental damages. It was typical in the 1960s–70s that the process-
ing of 2.4 tons of raw material by the industry produced 1 ton of primary indus-
trial waste and refuse. Consequently, the vast majority of the industrial waste was
accumulated in the largest heavy industrial areas in the Carpathian region. Be-
cause of the abundance of natural resources this environmental degradation
caused by the industry continued across the border, in the Slovak and Polish parts
of the Carpathian region as well, leading to an extended destruction of forests all
over the Carpathian region.
Traffic meant a similarly heavy load on the environment. Road traffic devel-
oped rapidly but the cars had low capacity and strongly polluted the air. This,
together with the presence of heavy industry in the Carpathian region contributed
to the worsening of the situation. The air and the waters were heavily polluted,
and waste accumulated on the dumpsites both legal and illegal.
In the Carpathian region conditions for agricultural production are less favour-
able than on the Great Plain primarily because of the hilly surface, and farmers
have no alternative but to adapt themselves to the special conditions of the land-
scape. At the same time, the varied soil, surface and regional climatic conditions
are most suitable for a great variety of agricultural activities, mainly in the river
valleys and at the foot of the hills.

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
Efforts have been made to improve the quality of the soil with chemical fertil-
izers. Thus, by 1983 (the peak in artificial fertilization in the agrarian regions of
Eastern-Central European countries) the use of fertilizers in some weaker agri-
cultural parts of the Carpathian region increased to 40 times the amount used in
the early 1950s. This increased the acidity of the soil and the nitrate content of
ground water all over the region.
4.6 Nature conservation in the Carpathian area
The Carpathian region is very rich in natural assets. The region’s most specific
value is its liminal function as a kind of transitional area and a link between the
hilly areas and the lowland, ensuring the migration of species living on the plain.
The area is crossed by important ecological corridors, between the Carpathian
Basin and the Carpathian Mountains. As the national borders are not easily acces-
sible, it contributed for a long time to the conservation of the natural ecological
conditions and the maintenance of biodiversity, the great variety of the landscape,
nature and culture in the area. Thus, the Carpathian Mountains together with the
Carpathian Basin are one of the regions in Europe with the largest biodiversity
that abound in species, which hardly occur in the territories north or west of the
Carpathians. The proportion of forested land is very favourable in the region.
Even in the least forested Hungary (18,2% of its entire territory is forests) 52% of
the areas that belong to the Carpathian region is forested, whereas in the core
areas of mountains this proportion is 88–94%. Forests help maintain biodiversity
especially in those border areas where multidirectional impacts add up, for exam-
ple in the foreground of the Northern Carpathians the Gemer-Torna Karst with
Carpathian, Pannonic and sub-Mediterranean impacts. The large number of en-
demic species in the flora and fauna of the Carpathian region is one of its greatest
assets. This fact strengthens the position and importance of nature conservation.
The number of national parks, the size of areas under protection and protected
natural values increases rapidly.
Development of the Natura 2000 network is important in the process of nature
conservation in the Carpathian region. This network links valuable natural sites
and habitats into a more or less related chain. The areas of the Natura 2000 spread
out on 2,6 million hectares in 2004 (Tables 10–12).

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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE CARPATHIAN AREA
Table 12
Overview of the IBA in the contract states of the CC
(Birdlife International, 2005)
Country
Total number of
Thereof in the
Area
Thereof in the
areas in the country
study area
(ha)
study area (ha)
Czech Republic
16
3
627,853
125,380
Hungary 43  7
1,466,244
308,800
Poland 81 4
2,966,277
204,194
Romania 44  13
655,727
126,049
Slovakia 32 22
1,216,737
1,150,898
Serbia 40
n/a
101,500
n/a
Ukraine 141  3
2,486,864
222,107
Source:  Implementing an international mountain convention. An approach for the delimitation of
the Carpathian Convention area. Bolzano 2006.
4.7 National parks in the Carpathian area
The Carpathian region is one of the richest areas in Europe regarding the amount
of natural values. The first national park was established in Romania, in the
Retezat Mountains, in 1935. In 2004, there were 29 national parks in the Carpa-
thian region (Table 10). In 2005, two more national parks were established in
Romania (Bulia-Vãnturarita and the Jiu Valley National Park). Three national
parks can be found in the Hungarian region of the Carpathians, however, there are
five national parks altogether in the study area of the project. Fertő–Hanság and
Körös–Maros National Parks also belong here, thus, altogether there are 33
strictly protected areas. An important characteristic feature of the region is that 12
national parks have been created along the national borders. The foundation of
such cross-national parks is enhanced by the rich biodiversity and social circum-
stances. Before 1989 natural values in these areas were protected by means of
political isolation, nevertheless, nowadays it is international cooperation towards
nature protection that helps preserve these areas in their original beauty and use.