*1.3. Characteristics of the Research Areas*

The research was carried out in parallel in two areas from the countries of the Baltic Sea basin. Both research areas share the following characteristics:


The area of interest within the MARA project in the Republic of Karelia (RUSSIA) is the Zaonezhye area, which includes the large Zaonezhsky peninsula and the adjacent archipelago of the Kizhi skerries (about 500 islands), with an area of 560 km<sup>2</sup> . Its northern boundary runs through a natural watershed to the north of the Zaonezhsky peninsula. It is a unique historical and cultural complex with a historically formed settlement system, which administratively belongs to the Medvezh'egorsk municipal district of the Republic of Karelia. A large number of shallow rivers and deep-water lakes characterise the relief of Zaonezhye. Frequently, there are alternating elongated bays, lakes and long narrow rocky ridges, with a strict orientation from north-west to south-east. The historical transport routes for the Zaonezhye area include inland waterways (Lake Onega). Residents of Zaonezhye have created a particular type of boat named the "kizhanka", which is popular on Lake Onega even to this day. The road network is poorly developed due to the complex relief and water obstacles.

There are three rural settlements on the territory of the Zaonezhsky peninsula (Velikaya Guba, Tolvuya and Shun'ga). Each of them consists of several small villages (about 90 in total); some of them are inhabited only during the summer season. The total population of the peninsula is around 3500. The population has been declining for more than 10 years. Another trend is the ageing of the population; young people are leaving mainly for the district centre Medvezh'egorsk and the regional capital Petrozavodsk.

The territory of Zaonezhye is famous for its magnificent nature, historical and architectonic monuments, the pearl of which, the Kizhi Island, is a UNESCO monument. In 1966, the State Historical, Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve "Kizhi" was established. In 1990, Kizhi was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Kizhi State Nature Reserve under the jurisdiction of the federation includes the protection zone of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve. The protected area of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve is located on an area of 50,000 hectares and has been established to protect rare species of flora and fauna and waterfowl breeding sites. The Museum-Reserve is also located in close proximity to the planned Kizhi Skerries National Park (the second option is the Zaonezhsky Nature Park) with an area of 115,000 hectares, whose main objective is to preserve the natural and cultural values of the northern part of Zaonezhye.

Despite the high attractiveness of the region, accessibility and communication are very difficult and include the following options:


It must, therefore, be recognised that the region lies a long way from an economic centre, such as Petrozavodsk, and access to it is extremely difficult.

The region that represents Poland was the Hajnowka Poviat, which covers one of the most valuable natural areas in Europe, the Białowieza Forest with the Białowie ˙ za˙ Forest Reserve. The Hajnowka region is characterised by a low percentage of county and municipal road density. The length of hardened surfaces is 39.5 km per 1 km<sup>2</sup> . This is considerably less than the corresponding indicators for the Podlaskie Voivodeship (65.1 km per 1 km<sup>2</sup> ) and entirety of Poland (94.1 km per 1 km<sup>2</sup> ). The low road density in the Hajnowka region is mainly due to the large area of forest complexes (50.6%) and the low population density, which is 27 persons per 1 km<sup>2</sup> compared to 124 persons per 1 km<sup>2</sup> in Poland (US 2019; CSO (Central Statistical Office of Poland) 2019). Under these conditions, the organisation of public transport is quite a challenge, especially as the county is home to around 150,000 inhabitants in 244 localities.

Comparing the studied regions, it is possible to point out the following characteristics of both areas:


Both regions are remote areas and have a wealth of naturally valuable tourist attractions. Due to the location of both regions, improving mobility is a major challenge.
