Rethinking national parks as a key to regional development: Beyşehir Lake National Park

Abstract

National parks are defined by showing a unique structure with residential areas where bring various cultural and traditional aspects and sustain local handicrafts being loca-specific. National parks are not only protected due to their natural beauty and resources but also seen as a mechanism to stimulate different economic activities locally. Therefore, it has been necessary to define a multidimensional and layered actor system in the management of national parks. National parks, where are an economic landscape based on knowledge and innovation; being more efficient, more environmentally, and more competitive in terms of resource use; facilitate social and regional integration by encouraging a high employment rate within the framework of inclusive growth principles, are considered not only ecological factors, but also an important element of the planning system. This study aims to reveal the implications of how national parks can be an element of value in terms of regional development policies. Three main topics have been discussed on this subject: evaluations of the social, economic, and governance dimensions. In this study, In-depth interviews were conducted with visitors of the national park, local people, and various institutions for revealing the conflict areas, especially between local people and economic actors. As a result of the study, proposals have been developed to overcome the existing problems in front of the national parks to have an active role in terms of regional development policies.