ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book highlights how nature protection policies are contingent upon wider environmental, social and political relations, and are heavily influenced by economic opportunities and tourism development patterns. It focuses on secondary data, as well as on-site research undertaken in Pelister National Park and Šumava National Park. The book outlines the main contributions to relevant debates in human geography, anthropology and social environmental science. It underlines the benefits of studying protected areas in Central and Eastern European countries in terms of understanding how the particular legacies of communist central planning have influenced nature conservation. The book argues that the conventional management system for protected areas known as the Yellowstone model has led to the displacement of local populations from protected areas, while putting unreasonable limitations on the use of natural resources in the name of nature protection.
