Ecotourism as a tool for sustainable development

Abstract

Modern pace of urbanization and globalization has a stable tendency to consolidate cities. Millionaires absorb suburbs, forming agglomerations. The development of territories in such conditions requires a change in a number of landscapes, town-planning, social and cultural systems. The European part of Russia differs from the rest of the country by a dense location of cities forming powerful agglomerations. 9 of the 15 of them created in the country are located on this territory, the largest of them being Moscow and St. Petersburg. Voronezh city agglomeration is the second largest after Moscow in the central part of European Russia. It has historical, cultural and unique natural features. Over the past 5-10 years ecological tourism has become a promising direction of development due to the region's development trends. Recreational and tourist potential of the regions of the central part of European Russia and its cultural heritage are able to a great degree to predetermine the strategy for their development. Evaluation of these components and the development of a concept based on interdisciplinary analysis resulted in evaluating the prospects of such territories and outlining the pathways of anagenesis. Based on the triplex (landscape-ecological, biogeographical and town-planning) interdisciplinary approach, the concept of the ecological framework for the development of agglomerations is substantiated as the basis for environmental management for the sustainable development of the region. Its implementation will allow preserving the biological and landscape diversity of the territory, improving the ecological situation, developing socio-infrastructure facilities, making ecological tourism a profitable source of income for the regional budget.