The conservationists' concerns: on national administration response to integrated use and protection planning

This paper examines the Norwegian national authorities' responses to combined use and protection planning for huge protected areas and their buffer zone in northern Norway. The processes were chaired by county delegates and included a wide range of stakeholders. In-depth semi-structured intervi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Local environment 2010-04, Vol.15 (4), p.357-371
Main Author: Bay-Larsen, Ingrid
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conservation
Conservation of resources
Documentary analysis
Environmental policy
Environmental protection
Government
Government agencies
Interviews
Local government
Norway
Parks
Planning
protected areas
Public administration
Public policy
Social capital
stakeholder involvement
Stakeholders
Trade-off
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Summary:This paper examines the Norwegian national authorities' responses to combined use and protection planning for huge protected areas and their buffer zone in northern Norway. The processes were chaired by county delegates and included a wide range of stakeholders. In-depth semi-structured interviews, participatory observation and document analyses have been conducted to investigate the potential of these processes and response from national environmental authorities. The paper suggests that national environmental authorities partly ignored the potential strengths associated with combined use and protection plans and over-emphasised the potential environmental threats stemming from local management. Moreover, these trade-offs seemed to be guided on a rather vague scientific basis. In conclusion, the paper argues that central environmental administration needs to (i) engage actively in participatory processes, (ii) present clear rationales, if rejecting local initiatives, (iii) acknowledge the potential for man-nature relationships as beneficial for environmental assets, and (iv) relate interpretation of law to integrative policies.
ISSN:1354-9839
1469-6711
DOI:10.1080/13549831003677688