Search Results (29)

The intersection of sports and natural forests and green spaces represents an emerging interdisciplinary field with implications for public health, environmental science, and sustainable land management and refers to the variety of cultural ecosystem services demanded by people from ecosystems. This manuscript presents a systematic bibliometric and thematic analysis of 148 publications for the period 1993–2024 identified through Web of Science and Scopus, aiming to evaluate the current state of research on sports activities conducted in natural forest environments. Findings indicated a marked increase in scientific interest of this topic over the past two decades, with key contributions from countries such as England, Germany, China, and the United States. Researchers most frequently examined sports such as hiking, trail running, mountain biking, and orienteering for their capacity to provide physiological and psychological benefits, reduce stress, and enhance mental well-being. The literature analysis highlights ecological concerns, particularly those associated with habitat disturbance, biodiversity loss, and conflicts between recreation and conservation. Six principal research themes were identified: sports in urban forests, sports tourism, hunting and fishing, recreational sports, health benefits, and environmental impacts. Keyword and co-authorship analyses revealed a multidisciplinary knowledge base with evolving thematic focuses. In conclusion, the need for integrated approaches that incorporate ecological impact assessment, stakeholder perspectives, and adaptive forest governance to ensure sustainable recreational use of natural forest ecosystems is underlined. Full article

The commercial wildlife trade involves billions of animals each year, consumed for various purposes, including food, fashion, entertainment, traditional medicine, and pets. The experiences of the animals involved vary widely, with negative welfare states being commonplace. To highlight the broad scope of animal welfare impacts across the commercial wildlife trade, we present ten case studies featuring a range of species traded globally for different purposes: (1) Ball pythons captured and farmed to serve as pets; (2) Zebrafish captive bred to serve as pets; (3) African Grey Parrots taken from the wild for the pet industry; (4) Sharks de-finned for traditional medicine; (5) Pangolins hunted for traditional medicine; (6) Crickets farmed for food and feed; (7) Frogs wild-caught for the frog-leg trade; (8) Crocodilians killed for their skins; (9) Lions farmed and killed for tourism; and (10) Elephants held captive for tourism. The case studies demonstrate that wild animals commercially traded can suffer from negative welfare states ranging from chronic stress and depression to frustration and extreme hunger. The individuals involved range from hundreds to billions, and their suffering can last a lifetime. Given the welfare issues identified and the growing recognition and scientific evidence for animal sentience, we propose reducing and redirecting consumer demand for these consumptive wildlife practices that negatively impact animals. Full article

This work addresses the lack of methodologies for the seamless integration of 360° videos, 3D digitized artifacts, and virtual human agents within a virtual reality environment. The proposed methodology is showcased in the context of a tour guide application and centers around the innovative use of a central hub, metaphorically linking users to various historical locations. Leveraging a treasure hunt metaphor and a storytelling approach, this combination of digital structures is capable of building an exploratory learning experience. Virtual human agents contribute to the scenario by offering personalized narratives and educational content, contributing to an enriched cultural heritage journey. Key contributions of this research include the exploration of the symbolic use of the central hub, the application of a gamified approach through the treasure hunt metaphor, and the seamless integration of various technologies to enhance user engagement. This work contributes to the understanding of context-specific cultural heritage applications and their potential impact on cultural tourism. The output of this research work is the reusable methodology and its demonstration in the implemented showcase application that was assessed by a heuristic evaluation. Full article

The paper reveals opportunities and limitations of tourism development in one of the most inaccessible areas in the mountains of Southern Siberia: Todzhinsky kozhuun, Republic of Tyva, RF. Taking into account key indicators that reflect the natural, historical, cultural, and socio-economic characteristics of the territory, using GIS technologies, a comprehensive assessment and mapping of the tourism and recreational potential (TRP) of the territory was carried out. The method of multicomponent scoring was used in this work. Consequentially, the study area was divided by means of a regular hexagonal network into many operational territorial cells; for each of those, the sum of scores was calculated according to the conditions and objects that are localized within its boundaries. The set of operational territorial cells filled with visual information made it possible to create an assessment map of the tourism and recreational potential of the Todzhinsky kozhuun territory. This map highlights the areas of the five value ranks, from the highest to the lowest. The areas with the highest scores are obviously the most suitable for the development of tourism industry. In general, the basis of the region’s TRP is picturesque virgin natural landscapes with many large lakes, unique traditional ethnocultural landscapes of the mountain–taiga reindeer herders, biological resources for hunting and fishing, and healing mineral springs (arzhany). The key limiting factor in the development of tourism is the underdeveloped transportation system and the insufficiency of special tourism infrastructure facilities. Such an assessment made it possible to identify territories favorable for the creation of three specialized tourist clusters: ethnocultural tourism, “Reindeer herders of Todzhi”; water, ecological, and fishing tourism, “Todzha Lakes”; and mountain and sports tourism, “Big Sayan”. Full article

This is an exploratory study aiming to assess the fire risk perception by operators of the Vale do Guadiana Natural Park (PNVG), southern Portugal. To maximize the sample size, a questionnaire survey was distributed among 35 entities with activities in tourism, hunting, and agriculture, as well as among members of PNVG’s co-management commission. For data analysis and interpretation, quantitative and qualitative analyses were used. Survey responses revealed that the entities expressed concern about and made efforts toward the search for and improvement in mitigation strategies in the occurrence of fires. A total of 69.6% of the respondents have knowledge of the occurrence of fires in the region. The qualitative analysis highlights the concern with biodiversity, as well as with the maintenance and cleaning of the PNVG. This study verifies the degree of importance that the tourism sector should give to the impacts caused by fires. The impact of climate change favoring fires was recognized by the entities, as well as the fact that the loss of biodiversity due to fires may have a direct impact on the attractiveness of this tourist destination, indicating the importance of environmental conservation strategies for the region. Full article

The paper aims at adapting the knowledge regarding the capitalization of tourist resources to the method of tourist choremas in the Oltenia region, Romania, thus creating a tool for planning and organizing the geographical space for sustainable development. The tourism choremas method uses the graphic and cartographic modelling of the territory of the South-West Oltenia region, and in a post-COVID-19 period it is important that the research can help in increasing the productivity in tourism, which can lead to higher incomes for managers in the tourism sector and for the locals from different rural/disadvantaged area of the region. GIS (Geographical Information Systems) represents a key element for the future development of tourism in the virtual environment, given the fact that many travellers use virtual electronic systems to see the tourist destination, surroundings, protected areas, accommodation, tourist routes, recreation and entertainment areas (zoos, hunting areas), etc. Choremes of the Oltenia region were created using ArcGIS 10.1 software, showing different entities and a series of attributes (descriptive elements) marked on the created maps as follows: elements of the natural environment (landforms altimetry, hydrographic network, lakes, national parks and reserves, waterfalls); man-made environment (roads, landmarks—churches, monasteries, museums); or conventional delimitations (county boundary, the boundaries of the two areas—Northern and Southern Oltenia). Four successive stages were conducted in order to create the choremes using the GIS software: (1) creating the database for the analysis of the studied destination; (2) processing the statistical data for Northern and Southern Oltenia; (3) the interpretation of the data obtained in correlation with the specialized literature on the capitalization of tourism resources and forms of tourism existing in the region; and (4) cartographic representation. The chorematic maps are represented at the scale of the geographical territory where the study analysis is carried out. The representation of physico-geographical elements, but also of touristic elements, was represented by lines, points and polygons, using the vector and raster spatial data model. The chorematic method proves to be innovative and up-to-date especially for the organization of the tourist space, for the sustainable development of the region and for the tourism research activity in the area. Full article

This paper investigates the impact of wildfire threats, and the resulting smoke, on nature-based rural tourism. As both residents of the community and business owners, Airbnb hosts provide valuable insight into the challenges facing tourism in southern Oregon. As an investigative study where there is little past research on the subject, qualitative methods were used. Results indicate that the summer season is growing longer, and smoky conditions are reducing the tourist season. As wildfire season extends into the autumn, visitation is also decreasing during the hunting/fishing season because of closures to natural areas under wildfire threat. The politicization of climate change has changed the policy emphasis from climate change mitigation to wildfire mitigation, resulting in added expenses for Airbnb property owners. Full article

There is growing concern about captive lion hunting and breeding operations in South Africa, including cub-petting tourism. For the first time, we assess the quality of cub-petting facilities and code the stress behaviors of lion cubs when handled by tourists by analyzing four stress-related behaviors and six indicators of poor husbandry in 49 YouTube videos of tourist–lion cub interactions (from at least 11 South African safari parks, 2008-2019). We also categorized videos as regular tourism vs. voluntourism (tourism under the guise of helping those in need). We found a median of four poor husbandry practices per video, with all but two videos involving very young cubs (under 7 months) and the majority (61%) involving cubs estimated under 3 months old. Two videos claimed to show cubs as young as 9 days old and 1 day old, with their eyes still closed. The lion mother was apparent in only 1 of 49 videos. All but one of the interactions took place during the day, although young cubs are primarily active at night. The majority of videos (77%) showed cubs engaging in at least one stress behavior, and the most common stress behaviors were avoidance and aggression. Comparing voluntourism to regular tourism, we found no difference in instances of poor husbandry or observable stress behaviors (p’s > 0.6). These results show that cub-petting operations are characterized by poor cub welfare, including features that are inherently harmful to cub development (e.g., separation from the mother at an early age and forced activity outside normal waking hours). Existing research suggests that many tourists are likely unaware of these negative impacts and may even believe that they are helping the cubs. This analysis provides evidence to the contrary. Full article

Femmes fatales (Ff) are female fireflies that hunt and feed on the males of other firefly species that they attract by responding with glows or flashes to their bioluminescent signals. Here, we present field observations demonstrating that Photuris lugubris females are Ff of male Photinus palaciosi, a synchronous firefly exploited as a tourist attraction in the mountains of central Mexico. We show that the hunting success of the Ff is low, as observed in previous studies, suggesting that the impact of predation on the prey population is low. We present experimental data showing sex-specific hunting behaviour, since only female P. lugubris fed on P. palaciosi. We also present experimental data showing that at least some female P. lugubris mate multiple times; we discuss the implications of this discovery for the switch between the mating and hunting modes of Ff. We discuss open questions, as well as the possible impact of Ff on tourism focused on synchronous fireflies. Full article

The dehesa is one of the main agricultural landscapes in the Extremadura region. It is currently undergoing a production crisis caused by changes in the market, including the abandonment of uses linked to its exploitation. This situation could lead to the disappearance of this unique landscape due to its anthropogenic nature. It is therefore necessary to develop alternative activities to improve its productive profitability, which could include sustainable hunting. The hunting literature recognizes the role it plays in environmental, economic, and social sustainability, with hunting tourism being one of the productive activities that generates the most wealth within the sector, where big game hunting is of great importance. In this scenario, the regions of Villuercas-Ibores-Jara and La Siberia have an ideal landscape for the development of this modality due to their physical characteristics. For this reason, this study carried out an analysis of the situation of hunting tourism in these areas through the dissemination of a questionnaire among the managers of rural accommodation in the study area. The responses recorded were processed using statistical techniques that allowed us to extract interesting results such as the importance of hunting as a tourist resource, with a large number of big game species living in these areas, the high presence of hunters in these lodgings during the hunting season, the role that hunting plays in environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and the need to create a specific tourist product that meets the needs of the demand of hunters. Full article

Hunting has major importance from many perspectives: As a product of leisure and recreation, as a tool for conservation and wildlife management, as the main economic activity in rural areas, or as a cultural heritage and traditional activity for countries around the world, especially for countries in Europe and Africa. Therefore, this research fills a gap in the literature and offers a cross-cultural opinion and perceptions of 198 hunters from Romania and Spain. The aim of the paper is to analyze the perceptions and opinions of hunters regarding hunting tourism through an online self-administrated questionnaire by convenience sampling using hunters associations from these countries. Among the values that identify hunting as an activity, hunters highlight the human values (friendship, company, ethics), ecological values (love of nature associated with hunting as a tool to understand and enjoy the natural environment), and social values (resources generated, hobby, effort). The respondents can self-criticize some components and aspects of hunting groups. Hunters believe that the future of this sector is moving towards commercial hunting, associated with purchasing power to ensure results. Regardless of the nationality of the hunters, their values related to this sector are similar. Full article

(1) Background: Desertification is one of the most important environmental impacts around the world. In the semiarid grassland of North of Chile, overgrazing has deep effects on arid lands and consequently on its economy and social development. It is necessary to conduct very detailed studies to determine how the climate, the botanical composition and the grazing system affects this process; (2) Methods: In this paper, we have determined the effect on arid grasslands of three goat managements: exclusions, continuous and deferred grazing on forage biomass, richness, Berger–Parker’s dominance and Shannon’s diversity. This study was developed in Las Cardas Range Station (CEALC) of the University of Chile in the Coquimbo region. The effect of annual and seasonal rainfall on biomass, diversity, richness and dominance parameters was determined; (3) Results: Allochthonous, endemic and native species showed significant changes both for seasonal and annual precipitation. In contrast, the grazing system only affected dominance and biomass of native and endemic species. Deferred grazing was the only management system that increased overall biomass productivity, especially on the best forage plant species. Exclusions showed a positive influence on more endangered species, which were the most vulnerable to goat overgrazing; (4) Conclusions: In consequence, we proposed a network of areas under deferred grazing combined with exclusions. This strategy can increase simultaneously forage productivity, grassland conservation and preservation of associated resources as hunting and wildlife tourism. Moreover, this strategy of range management will allow the sustainability of community of farmers in one of the poorest and most desertified areas in South America. Full article

The most recent emerging infectious diseases originated in animals, mainly in wildlife reservoirs. Mutations and recombination events mediate pathogen jumps between host species. The close phylogenetic relationship between humans and non-human primates allows the transmission of pathogens between these species. These pathogens cause severe impacts on public health and impair the conservation of habituated or non-habituated wild-living apes. Constant exposure of great apes to human actions such as hunting, deforestation, the opening of roads, and tourism, for example, contributes to increased interaction between humans and great apes. In spite of several studies emphasizing the risks of pathogen transmission between animals and humans, outbreaks of the reverse transmission of infectious agents threatening wildlife still occur on the African continent. In this context, measures to prevent the emergence of new diseases and conservation of primate species must be based on the One Health concept; that is, they must also ensure the monitoring of the environment and involve political and social aspects. In this article, we review and discuss the anthropological aspects of the transmission of diseases between people and wild primates and discuss new anthropozoonotic diseases in great apes in Africa from studies published between 2016 and 2020. We conclude that the health of great apes also depends on monitoring the health of human populations that interact with these individuals. Full article

Background: The objective of this study was to analyze the current situation of the truffle sector in the main producing countries of the Mediterranean area. Additionally, we identified the challenges for the future and the priority actions to develop the truffle sector in the region. Methods: We used a Delphi process approach, and we selected a total of 17 expert panelists in different positions within the supply chain of the target countries (Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Greece). Results: The results obtained allowed us to have a complete description of the current truffle supply chain. We confirmed an evolution of the sector due to the cultivation success of several Tuber species. The maturity of the sector has produced shifts in the roles that form the traditional truffle supply chain operators. We confirmed the trend of a decrease of collectors that hunt truffles in the wild and sell to small travelling buyers, whilst truffle hunters that collect for farmers and specialty wholesalers are emerging. However, a trend of truffle price decrease in the last few years has alerted the sector. Conclusions: As production increases due to truffle cultivation, it will be necessary to promote truffle consumption. We identified actions to develop the truffle sector: (a) strengthen the link between truffles, tourism, and gastronomy; (b) increase the effort at European level for the recognition of truffle production, helping to develop truffle culture and marketing; (c) increase the awareness and consumption of truffles among consumers; and (d) develop tourism workshops for truffle farmers. Full article

The mara is a large endemic rodent, which presents a marked decline in its populations, mainly because of habitat loss, hunting, and overgrazing. The Ischigualasto Provincial Park is a hyper-arid protected area at the Monte Desert of Argentina with an overall low plant cover. Our objective was to determine the influence of environmental variables and tourist activities on mara’s habitat use. We used different biological levels to explain it, from plant community to floristic composition, in order to know at which level we can better detect the effects of tourist activities. We registered fresh feces and habitat variables along 80 transects in two communities, near and far away from the tourist circuit. To evaluate habitat use, we fitted models at different biological levels: plant community, plant strata, plant biological forms, and floristic composition. At the community and plant strata levels, we could not detect any tourism effects on habitat use. However, we detected effects of tourist activities on mara’s habitat use at the plant strata and floristic composition levels. Maras also selected areas with a low proportion of both bare soil and pebbles cover. We found complex interactions between abiotic, biotic variables and tourism, studying mara’s places near tourism activities, probably because they perceive those places as predator-safe areas. Full article