Effect of nature conservation on the socio-economic development of municipalities in the south western border region of the Czech Republic

In this study, we focus on factors affecting the socio-economic development within a protected zone and attempt to elucidate if being in a protected area significantly affects the development or whether other factors also have a role. We focused on population counts recorded in 1991 and 2011 in order to identify the changes in the economy following to the establishment of the Šumava National Park in 1991 and Český les Protected Landscape Area (PLA) in 2005. A total of 39 municipalities of similar size and history were included and 18 socio-economic indicators, which can be broadly categorized in terms of economy, landscape use and municipality income. We performed ANCOVA to determine the association between the size and location (outside or inside protected area) of a municipality and each of the18 socio-economic indicators. They did not vary significantly in 1991. After two decades the demography, economy and landscape usage were significantly different. However, they were not a result of being in a protected area but changes in the sizes of the municipalities. The municipalities located within protected areas may profit from their locality and it has positive rather than negative effects on the socioeconomic indicators.