Thesis title: “The development of community-based ecotourism - lumes

scientific research regarding topics such as the rivers and the fauna of the area thathave not been examined sufficiently to date. Another action concerns reinforcingcollaboration among local tourism authorities and institutions, in order to promotethrough common effort the acceptance of ecotourism and prevent unsustainabletourism practices in the area. This cooperation should also expand later to include theregional development agencies.Finally, within the scope of developing ecotourism in Zagori, WWF has alsosuggested the establishment of a “network of communities of Chamois biotopes”. Infact, this project constitutes an attempt to initiate a network of collaboration amonglocal stakeholders. More specifically, this plan envisages the creation of a networkthat will initially comprise five villages within the area of Zagori (Papigo, Vradeto,Tsepelovo, Skamneli and Vrissohori), with the potential to expand it so as to includemore neighboring villages and small towns in the future (Tziovas, 2004, personalcommunication). The suggested legal status for this network is that of a private, nonprofitorganisation. The local office of WWF will be in charge of this network, but itsrole will be merely consultative and coordinative. The participation of scientists andother experts (e.g. coming from the regional universities and other research institutes)as consultants is also needed in this network. Yet, the local community is still themost important partner in the creation and management of this networkThe main target of this network is to highlight the existence of a natural valuenamely the endangered species of the Balkan Chamois, which could be thus turnedinto a “flag species” of the area, but in the same time, transform it into a significantdriver of socio-economic prosperity for Zagori. It could be of great benefit to the localcommunity to bring out the existence in Zagori of this rare species, which is fairlyunknown to the wide public. This natural value can thus become a source of increasedprofit generation through tourism if marketed appropriately, since it differentiatesZagori from other mountainous destinations in Greece. Moreover, the creation of thisnetwork aims at increasing the involvement of the local community in themanagement of its own natural resources. The establishment of this network, finally,is expected to bring about greater awareness about the necessity to protect the BalkanChamois, both among the members of the local community and the visitors (Tziovas,2004, personal communication).In any case, one should keep in mind that this project goes far beyond theprotection of the Balkan Chamois. Although this is also vital and desirable, it does notconstitute the only purpose of this network. In other words, its main objective is tomobilize the local community and utilize its potential so as to achieve sustainabledevelopment and management of the area from all aspects. Another goal of equalsignificance is to increase the acceptance of the Vikos-Aoos National Park throughenhanced participatory procedures such as reinforcing the role of the local communityin decision-making for the management of the National Park. Last but not least, thecreation of this network is expected to strengthen the social bonds within thecommunity of Zagori, by increasing cooperation for the achievement of commonpurposes and the pursuit of the community’s welfare as a whole. This is of greatsignificance, given that the human environment of Zagori is highly heterogeneous,since it is comprised of people of varying descendance and origin (Sarakatsani, Vlachiand Gypsies). Although these groups have lived together in the area for centuries,they still preserve the special social and cultural characteristics that distinguish onefrom the other and avoid mingling. Hence, such projects that require localinvolvement are an opportunity for bringing together people who belong to differentgroups and, thus, promote understanding and appreciation among different groups and30