Ecosystem goods and efficiency of protected areas in the mountains (bulgarian rhodope and russian altai as the case study)

Mountains have been recognized as flagship lands of nature conservation around the world. The ecosystem ser-vices approach is now being incorporated in global protected areas and biodiversity conservation policies. Natural protected areas in the mountains provide society with a rich flow of ecosystem-related benefits. Russia and Bulgaria have significant experience in the establishment and management of mountain protected areas. The Altai Mountains in Russia and the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria were selected as key mountain territories for comparison in this research due to their similar specialization: agriculture, forest exploitation, tourism activities, etc. The study is based on the interviewing of population from the model mountain territo-ries about the benefits provided by mountain landscapes and the effectiveness of protected natural areas. It was performed in nine villages within the Ust-Koksinsky District in Russia and five villages within Smolyan region in Bulgaria. The results stem from interviews with 374 persons (227 in Russia and 147 in Bulgaria) that were analyzed with statistical techniques. The interviewing results illustrate both common and different views of people from these model regions. Residents of the Smolyansk region and Ust-Koksinsky district consider wild plants for nutrition, materials or energy, possibilities for livestock, water for drinking and fresh air as the most important provisioning ecosystem benefits in the mountains. Among the nonmaterial benefits provided to people by landscapes, respondents most often called possibility for recreation and enjoying fresh air. The respondents in Bulgaria find aesthetic value in centuries-old forests, lakes, mountain peaks and green meadows. The combination of mountain slopes and peaks with a forest and a reservoir and the virgin landscape are most aesthetic for people in Russian Altai. Local people of both countries assess their area of residence as aesthetically attractive. Devil's Bridge, Marvelous Bridges, Yagodinska Cave, Devil's Throat Cave in Bulgaria, Mount Belukha and Multinskie Lakes in Russia are the most interesting sites to tourists. Residents of Russia assess the positive role of protected areas more unequivocally. Most of the respondents in the Smolyan region of Bulgaria believe that tourists should pay for the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful landscapes. Less than half of the residents in the Ust-Koksinsky region of Russia are share this opinion. We conclude that ecosystem services assessments should be pushed ahead as indispensable elements in the management and protection of mountain landscapes. Spatially explicit information on ecosystem services that incorporates the differentiated perceptions of local populations provides a rich basis for the development of sustain-able land management strategies.