Protected Areas as a Factor in Sustainable Development of the Croatian Islands - the Example of Mljet Island

The study analyses the role of the Mljet National Park and tourism under the demographic, economic and environmental changes on Mljet Island in order to estimate their implications for sustainable development. Key indicators have been determined according to statistical data, a field survey and interviews with local inhabitants and representatives of important institutions. Crucial processes have been identified on that basis and the level of the social, economic and environmental sustainability has been evaluated. The research pointed out that the founding of the Mljet National Park encouraged the development of tourism and the socio-economic transformation of the island's population and resulted in the tertiary activities grouped within the Park. Emphasis on the tourism development with the focus on summer vacation tourism has resulted in setting aside non-tourism activities and, despite the positive effects in reducing total depopulation, it has amplified the discrepancy between the depopulating settlements in the island interior with insufficient tourism development, the extremely progressive coastal settlements with developed tourism, endangered by the rapid degradation of the environment caused by excessive construction work, and the demographically more stable settlements within the National Park, exceptionally dependent on tourism.