The Namche Conference: May 24-26, 2003 People, Park, and Mountain Ecotourism Participants and Presentations: Dr. Sergey V. Golunov

Dr. Sergey V. Golunov, Associate Professor, Director of the Center for Regional and Transboundary Studies, Volgograd State University, Russia. Email: sgolunov@hotbox.ru Abstract The theme of presentation: Mountain Tourism in Caucasus and Central Asia in Light of Transboundary Security and Cooperation. After desintegration of the USSR the common space and well-developed infrastructure of mountain tourism was partially broken. It was because of that many of toursist's routes (especially in the Caucasus and Central Asia) have become transboundary. On the one hand, it created such problems as restirctions of border regime, transboundary criminality (including robberies and kidnappings of toursits and mountaineers). At the same time it causes degradation of some border territories for which the tourism previously was the most important sourse for social-economic development. These conditions are not favourable for ecological situation, the work of emergency services etc. The decision for these problems requires close transboundary cooperation between adjacent countries and their border administrative regions. The author will try first of all to answer to following questions: In what extent the profits from transboundary tourism in the post-Soviet space (at first in the Caucasus and Central Asia) can justify the corresponding expenses? Can the tourism be important factor for social and ethnic stability in the above-mentioned areas? How the present strengthening of border regimes in the mountain areas of the post-Soviet space can be combined to creation of favorable condition for tourism? How the international experience in the corresponding field can be applicable to the “post-Soviet conditions”?

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