QUALITY OF LIFE AND THREATS IN PROTECTED AREAS. A FIRST APPROACH OF THE CASE OF EVROS DELTA NATIONAL PARK

The protected area of the Evros delta constitutes one of the 27 Greek protected areas having a management authority. It has an unique and significant ecological value as it constitutes the habitat for a number of rare and threaten bird species. Nowadays, the protection regime of the area does not prohibit the continuation of the human presence and activity and especially outdoor recreation. Various dangers threat the Evros delta protected area such as biotic and abiotic, human activities or management problems. From the other side the management of this area is directly related with the quality of local people life. However, there are several aspects that are related with the threats in natural resources as with the way which the area can contribute to the quality of local people. The precise knowledge of these aspects could lead to a more efficient communication among the management authorities and residents and create a mutual relationship of respect and dependence. This study attempts to outline the opinion of local people on the dangers that threat the natural resources of the protected area and their contribution in the quality of life. In our study we used a structured questionnaire with predetermined answers and face-to-face interview. We choose the sample by using the simple random sampling, descriptive statistics and the chi-square test. Our results showed that all respondents consider the problem of pollution and illegal dumps as a very significant threat for the natural environment as also for the development of the greater area. They agree that the Evros Delta National Park offers a series of values that can contribute in a significant degree in the improvement of the quality of local people life.