The rich cultural heritage of its Ruthenian and Ukrainian minorities and preserved natural ecosystems represent potential for the development of sustainable forms of tourism in the region of Poloniny National Park in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. Social and political changes in the region during the 20^th century led to land abandonment, emigration of young generations, and reforestation. Some socio-economic relationships clearly reflect global trends at the regional level. At the local level, we found a weak relationship between socio-economic parameters and the system of protecting the environment. If environmental protection is increasingly marginalized in the future, this may lead to the enduring perception among the inhabitants that it is unnecessary. Therefore, local inhabitants should be engaged in activities and cooperate with nature conservation bodies to improve and create new economic opportunities founded on nature-based tourism, which should not have an intense negative impact on the country and its values.

The journal “eco.mont” – Journal of protected mountain areas research and management – was published for the first time in June 2009. The journal was founded as a joint initiative of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC), the International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps (ISCAR), the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and the University of Innsbruck. The journal aims to highlight research on and management issues in protected areas in the Alps without excluding other protected mountain areas in Europe or overseas. Its target audiences are scientists from all related disciplines, managers of protected areas and interested individuals including practitioners, visitors, teachers, etc. The journal presents peer-reviewed articles in English by authors who research protected mountain areas and management issues within these areas. It's published twice a year as a collaboration of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Press – responsible for the e-version – and Innsbruck University Press – responsible for the print version.

The trilateral biosphere reserve in the Eastern Carpathians borders Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine and represents a key model for conserving biological diversity with respect to socio-economic and sustainable development. It is the regional representative of much diversity (language, history, culture, legal framework, and land use and management), and ecological studies are more accessible than data on the mutual effect of nature conservation on the local economy. Our study compares demography, land use, revenue of local stakeholders and the development of eco-tourism using data from the Slovakian and Ukrainian UNESCO World Heritage regions, where both Slovak and Ukrainian stakeholders profit mainly from the forestry industry, though additional but small incomes are derived from local recreation. Incomes from tourism are higher in Ukraine than in Slovakia, while in Slovakia significantly higher income comes in from local taxes than in Ukraine. These factors lead to depopulation (especially of young people) and marginalization of nature conservancy in the region. The forestry industry, with few and less sophisticated job opportunities, and a generally negative impact on the environment (intensive logging, soil erosion, etc.), casually suppresses the creation and development of eco-tourism essentials to the region. To mitigate this effect, this study suggests several steps toward the development of eco-tourism in the Eastern Carpathians-Poloniny region.

The aim of this study was to measure the physicochemical properties of 28 mountain streams in Tatra National Park, Slovakia. Sampling sites (119) were selected based on a previous study conducted in 2010. Physical properties (e.g., temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, and dissolved oxygen) and chemical components (e.g., nitrogen oxides, ammonia oxides, chloride compounds, and chemical oxygen demand) of the water were determined. Environmental parameters of streams (elevation, slope, aspect, width, depth, flow accumulation, watershed size, bedrock, and presence of mountain lakes) at sampling sites were examined. While comparing results from both periods (2010 and 2017), we found a correlation in data trends, concluding that elevation plays a significant role in almost all investigated parameters. Downstream, streams were more saturated by dissolved solids, CaCO₃, and nitrates, increasing the pH level. Despite this well-known trend, we observed significant higher levels of ammonias and chlorides in the alpine zone, especially at sites where higher water temperature and lower values of dissolved oxygen were observed. This occurred in the Eastern Tatras, below mountain lakes, and where watersheds had granite origins. There are indications that denitrification processes were significantly stronger in 2017, but, on the other hand, increased chlorides resulted in stronger inhibition of nitrification processes in alpine zones at sites below mountain lakes.