EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - UNESCO World Heritage

number of study tour participants, both in terms of groups and individuals, primeval forests
excursions rank as the most popular and attractive tours among other products in this group.
This may change in a few years when children now exposed to the new ecological and
environmental education grow up and response more positively to the restrictions necessarily
limiting people’s behavior in pristine ecosystems of natural forest, including rangers’
guidance. However, an active information policy and promotion of primeval forests as nature
treasures can be recommended in order to secure their sustained protection in terms of
preserves’ number, area and protection management. It has been shown in this study that the
involvement of medially known and supportive personalities can serve as one among many
ways of how to achieve that goal.
Overall, there is no threat to the nominated properties from tourism development
currently or in the foreseeable futrure. The numbers of visitors to the entire area is only
approximately 80 000 a year and only a fraction of this figure enters the sites on available
marked hiking trails or during guided walk.
(v) Number of inhabitants within the property and the buffer zone:
Table 5 shows the number of inhabitants living outside the primeval forest buffer zones,
because there are no inhabitants either within the sites or their buffer zones (data from the
2001 population survey). Every buffer zone is divided into several subzones depending on the
distance from a particular primeval forest (up to 1 km, 1–3 km, 3–5 km, 5–10 km of direct
distance). No inhabitants live within the core and buffer zones. No inhabitants live within
boundaries of the Property and its buffer zones.
Table 5: Number of inhabitants living in buffer zones of nominated primeval forests (as of 2002)
Primeval forest Number of inhabitants given for different distance subzones
< 1 km 1–3 km 3–5 km 5–10 km Total
Chornohora 0 0 0 0 0
Havešová 0 0 589 3.050 3.339
Kuziy-
Trybushany
0 15 50 0 65
Maramorosh 0 0 0 0 0
Rožok 0 0 258 860 1118
Stužica –
Bukovské Vrchy
0 0 337 740 1.077
Svydovets 0 0 0 0 0
Uholka-
Shyrokyi Luh
0 25 76 0 101
Vihorlat 0 0 1.981 10.147 12.128
60