Peter Puchala

Wilderness As a Possibility for National Parks in Slovakia: Feasibility Check for Tatra National Park's Potencial for Pan Park Certification Peter Puchala

There has also been quite a growing interest in wilderness and wild areas among nature conservationists in the recent period. The importance of wilderness areas is undoubtedly very high and they usually provide several benefits and ecological values. The Carpathians host a few pieces of the last remains of the European wilderness. Most of the large areas that could be qualified as wilderness areas are already parts of established national parks or other types of protected areas. In order to find a sustainable solution for European Wilderness PAN Parks initiative has identified several areas of wilderness in Europe. PAN Parks is certifying the best managed protected areas with the incentive for conservation, tourism and sustainable development. The aim of this publication was to asses the potential of Tatra national park, the oldest national park in Slovakia for PAN Park certification, to find out what it lacks and recommend further steps for increasing the National Park's possibilities for PAN Park certification.