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Schutzgebiete verzeichnen steigende Besucher:innenzahlen. Gleichzeitig werden Outdoor-Aktivitäten, damit verbundene Nutzungsansprüche und Besucher:innenprofile immer diverser. Folglich kommt es vermehrt zu Konflikten mit der lokalen Bevölkerung, mit anderen Erholungssuchenden oder zu negativen Auswirkungen auf die Flora und Fauna. Für die nachhaltige Entwicklung einer Region ist es jedoch notwendig, die komplexen Stakeholderinteressen in Einklang zu bringen und Konflikte zu minimieren. In dieser Arbeit werden verschiedene Konflikte mit Besucher:innen aus der Perspektive von Key-Stakeholdern eines Schutzgebiets beschrieben. Dazu wurden Interviews (n = 14) mit Akteuren aus den Bereichen Land-/Forstwirtschaft, Naturschutz, Gemeinden, Tourismus, Natursport und Schutzgebietsverwaltung des Nationalparks Kalkalpen (Oberösterreich) geführt. Mit einer qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse konnten verschiedene Konfliktmerkmale und die Wahrnehmung folgender Konfliktarten abgebildet werden: Naturschutzkonflikte, zwischenmenschliche/wertebezogene Freizeitkonflikte, Mensch-Wildtier-Konflikte, Landnutzungskonflikte, Konflikte aufgrund von Zugangsbeschränkung, ungerechter Nutzenverteilung oder der Missachtung von Rechten/Werten der Einheimischen sowie Konflikte aufgrund politischer/gesetzlicher Bestimmungen. Die Erkenntnisse zeigen, dass Konflikte häufig auf Unwissenheit, fehlendem Natur-/Kulturbezug sowie mangelnder Akzeptanz bezüglich der Zielsetzungen des Schutzgebiets beruhen. Zur Konfliktlösung arbeiten lokale Stakeholder häufig erst dann zusammen, wenn Konflikte bereits eskalieren. Eine vorausschauende Konfliktprävention ist nur sporadisch erkennbar. Zudem wird deutlich, dass es vor allem in Bezug auf die Zielgruppe der Tagestouristen und Naherholungssuchenden eine erhöhte Aufmerksamkeit des Managements bedarf., Protected areas are recording rising visitor numbers. At the same time, outdoor activities, the associated usage requirements and visitor profiles are becoming more diverse. As a result, conflicts with other recreationists, the local community and negative impacts on flora and fauna are increasing. However, for the sustainable development of a region it is necessary to harmonize the complex stakeholder interests and minimize conflicts. This study describes various conflicts with visitors from the perspective of the main stakeholders of a protected area. For this purpose, interviews (n = 14) were conducted with stakeholders from the fields of agriculture, forestry, nature conservation, municipalities, tourism, nature sports and protected area administration of the Kalkalpen National Park (Upper Austria). A qualitative content analysis was used to map multiple conflict characteristics and the perception of the following types of conflict: nature conservation conflicts, interpersonal/value-related recreational conflicts, human-wildlife conflicts, land use conflicts, conflicts due to access restrictions, unfair distribution of benefits or disregard for the rights/values of locals as well as conflicts due to political regulations and laws. The findings show that conflicts are often based on a lack of knowledge, a lack of connection to nature/culture and a lack of acceptance of the protected area objectives. Local actors often only work together to resolve conflicts once they have already escalated. In addition, forward-looking conflict prevention can only be observed sporadically. Furthermore, increased management attention is required regarding the target group of day tourists and local recreationists., Arabella Wolf, Ein Abstract in englischer Sprache, Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2023

The draft Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework commits to achievement of equity and justice outcomes and represents a “relational turn” in how we understand inclusive conservation. Although “inclusivity” is drawn on as a means to engage diverse stakeholders, widening the framing of inclusivity can create new tensions with regard to how to manage protected areas. We first offer a set of tensions that emerge in the light of the relational turn in biodiversity conservation. Drawing on global case examples applying multiple methods of inclusive conservation, we then demonstrate that, by actively engaging in the interdependent phases of recognizing hybridity, enabling conditions for reflexivity and partnership building, tensions can not only be acknowledged but softened and, in some cases, reframed when managing for biodiversity, equity, and justice goals. The results can improve stakeholder engagement in protected area management, ultimately supporting better implementation of global biodiversity targets.

Inclusion of Indigenous communities and Traditional Ecological Knowledges (TEK) alongside reconciliation efforts feature in numerous plans and policies for nature and biodiversity conservation. But to what extent do these agreements present an honest attempt to equally share power and responsibility between Indigenous peoples and governance agencies in protected area management? In this thesis, I trace how including Indigenous communities and their TEK entered Canada’s policy discourse on nature conservation. I focus on the designation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), which presents Canada’s latest approach towards including Indigenous peoples in protected area management. Through a study of policy documents, I compare changes in Canadian governance agencies’ proposal of and motivations behind Indigenous peoples’ inclusion with insights from Indigenous communities’ documents related to Edéhzíe Protected Area and Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area. These documents offer insights into Indigenous stewardship practices, emphasize Indigenous self-governance as well as the role of TEK, Western science, and Indigenous languages in IPCA management. Although I conclude that Edéhzíe Protected Area and Thaidene Nëné Indigenous Protected Area present an honest attempt to equally share power and responsibility in IPCA management, I call on governance agencies to further centre Indigenous peoples’ ideas on stewarding biodiversity-rich places, grant rights to self-determination and self-governance, and restore justice.

The search for a balance between nature conservation and sustainable development remains a scientific and spatial planning challenge. In social-ecological systems based on traditional rural activities and associated with protected areas, this balance is particularly complex. Quantifying the economic impact of land use changes on ecosystem services can be useful to advise policy makers and improving social-ecological sustainability. In this study, we evaluated the land use changes in a time series and estimated the monetary value of the ecosystem services of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain). In addition, we linked the monetary and biophysical values of land uses in each zoning units of the reserve, in order to identify the spatial adjustment between both assessments. Results showed that land use changes have clearly homogenized the landscape without substantially affecting its economic value. The methodological approach allowed detection that the reserve zoning was performed based more on its biophysical values than on economic ones. Thus, evident divergences between the biophysical and economic assessments were found. The core area was the one that had the highest coincidences (medium values) between both ecosystem services assessments, which highlights its importance not only in biophysical terms, is also economical. The procedure followed proved to be a useful tool to social-ecological planning and design of specific conservation strategies for the sustainable development of the area., Gobierno Vasco, Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

The search for a balance between nature conservation and sustainable development remains a scientific and spatial planning challenge. In social-ecological systems based on traditional rural activities and associated with protected areas, this balance is particularly complex. Quantifying the economic impact of land use changes on ecosystem services can be useful to advise policy makers and improving social-ecological sustainability. In this study, we evaluated the land use changes in a time series and estimated the monetary value of the ecosystem services of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain). In addition, we linked the monetary and biophysical values of land uses in each zoning units of the reserve, in order to identify the spatial adjustment between both assessments. Results showed that land use changes have clearly homogenized the landscape without substantially affecting its economic value. The methodological approach allowed detection that the reserve zoning was performed based more on its biophysical values than on economic ones. Thus, evident divergences between the biophysical and economic assessments were found. The core area was the one that had the highest coincidences (medium values) between both ecosystem services assessments, which highlights its importance not only in biophysical terms, is also economical. The procedure followed proved to be a useful tool to social-ecological planning and design of specific conservation strategies for the sustainable development of the area.

Within the increasing focus on transboundary conservation initiatives around the world, the “peace” element that is supposed to differentiate peace parks from other transboundary protected areas is not clearly defined. Little has been done to assess how peace parks are perceived by different people, which unique values and meanings are associated with this concept, and which benefits they can provide. Currently, there are a variety of social, political and economic contexts where different peace parks operate. This can lead to confusion over peace park meanings and benefits, dominance of ecological emphasis over governance and social issues in the discussion of conservation efforts, lack of information about peace parks in general, and lack of organizational leadership in relation to the peace park idea. These challenges can limit ability to meet the potential of the peace park concept. The primary purpose of this research was to advance understanding of the peace park concept. To do so, it explored how peace is defined and perceived in the context of the U.S. section of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, revealed the role of peace within a destination image model of Glacier National Park (GNP), and suggested how peace could be further built into the organizational identity of the park. First, using the analysis of literature on peace parks and the data from 97 in-depth and free-elicitation interviews with GNP visitors and managers, it was explored if the peace park idea has penetrated the visiting public, and what park managers thought about it. The findings were organized around three main themes that emerged from the data, namely awareness about the peace park designation, perception of peace and its unique features in the context of a peace park, and perceptions of peace park benefits. Eleven different peace park meanings and six categories of benefits were identified, and it was revealed that there is a considerable opportunity to expand the awarene

This study analyzes the perceptions and attitudes of local inhabitants around two National Reserves (category VI IUCN): Paracas National Reserve (RNP) and Sistema de Islas, Islotes y Puntas Guaneras National Reserve (RNSIIPG) Islas Ballestas. WE compared differences and similarities around the management of the reserves, their knowledge and participation of local inhabitants around management. Ninety-five structured surveys were conducted in three locations: Lagunillas and Laguna Grande, located within RNP; El Chaco, located in the buffer zone and where tourism is the main activity; and San Andrés, whose inhabitants use the two national reserves to extract hydrobiological resources. The results indicate that the inhabitants perceive that they have little participation in management. Also, we also identified those variables related to knowledge are entrenched with the area and level of income, and that the variables related to perception are the location of the population with respect to the reserve and the self-perception of wealth. Therefore, it is recommended to emphasize management strategies according to these sectors and the economic activities that the inhabitants carry out., El estudio analiza conocimientos, percepciones y actitudes de los pobladores locales sobre la gestión de dos Reservas Nacionales (categoría VI UICN): la Reserva Nacional de Paracas (RNP) y la Reserva Nacional Sistema de Islas, Islotes y Puntas Guaneras (RNSIIPG) - Sector Sur Medio, Islas Ballestas. Se realizaron 95 encuestas estructuradas en tres localidades: Lagunillas y Laguna Grande, ubicadas dentro de la RNP; El Chaco ubicada en la zona amortiguamiento y lugar donde la principal actividad es la turística; y San Andrés, cuyos pobladores utilizan las dos reservas nacionales para extraer recursos hidrobiológicos. Los resultados indican que los pobladores perciben que tienen poca participación en la gestión, que las variables que están relacionadas al conocimiento de las reservas son identificación con el área y nivel de ingreso y que las variables relacionadas a la percepción son la ubicación de la población respecto a la reserva y la autopercepción de riqueza por lo que se recomienda enfatizar las estrategias de gestión de acuerdo a estos sectores y a las actividades económicas que los pobladores realizan.

In response to global consumer demand for rare and exotic wildlife products, poaching of endangered species has become pervasive around the world (Eliason 1999). Despite the enactment of CITES, and other international efforts to protect vulnerable species from overexploitation, the global market for illegal wildlife products is estimated as high as $20-billion a year industry (Wyler 2008). Within important wildlife habitat sites, law enforcement struggle to curb rampant poaching that threatens the ultimate survival of many endangered species (Jachmann 2008; Rowcliffe 2004). Law-enforcement agencies responsible for protecting wildlife from poachers often lack geospatial tools that could greatly improve the effectiveness of their efforts. These tools include accurate topographic maps with the appropriate scale and the level of detail necessary for navigating in difficult and dangerous terrain, and GIS base data needed to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of patrols (Pickles 2015). Recently, collaborations between the University of Montana (UM) and the large cat advocacy group Panthera, have enabled the production of geospatial packages for four protected areas of concern. These packages include printed topographic map series, GPS base-maps and comprehensive GIS base data. Throughout the creation of these packages, UM faculty and students have developed a nuanced workflow for this process using GIS and graphic design software. Until 2018, this workflow had yet to be fully documented. This document presents this workflow in the form of a cartographic manual, including step-by-step methods for creating appropriate geospatial packages. The goal of this document is to increase the efficiency of future cartographic collaborations between UM and conservation-minded groups, while providing valuable educational resources for UM students in GIS and cartography.

Integrated Conservation and Development (ICD) strategies in nature conservation are increasingly recognised as a way to protect the world’s remaining rainforest without neglecting the needs of the local people who are dependent on the forest resources for their livelihoods. With that said, there is still much to be learned about how to best design and implement ICD in the management of national parks. Many forest dependent communities living adjacent to national parks remain excluded from decision making, and their experiences, views and knowledge remain unheard. This case study addresses that issue in an exploration of local narratives about Mgahinga Gorilla national Park (MGNP) in South-western Uganda, where ICD strategies are used in the management, in response to local antagonism towards the park after its establishment in 1991. I employ a social-ecological perspective in the investigation of how the communities neighbouring Mgahinga Gorilla National Park make sense of the national park, its history and its management, and what implications it has for local environment stewardship and sustainability. I identify and analyse four dominant local narratives about MGNP drawing on the stories told by residents from five villages neighbouring MGNP. The study shows that the local communities do not associate MGNP with the same balance of opportunities and challenges, and that they have various and heterogeneous interests in relation to the national park based on their individual and collective experiences and interactions in the social ecological systems around MGNP through time.

Nature conservation is often seen as being primarily about shielding parts of nature from human intervention, e.g. by protecting areas. Over the last decades, however, intervention is increasingly being seen as necessary for nature to regain or retain its values, through ecological restoration and active management. This complicates simple assumptions that ‘nature knows best’ and raises dilemmas which are hotly debated in the scholarly literature around ecological restoration, protected area management, environmental ethics and green political theory. However, how these dilemmas are dealt with in actual policy struggles among the conservation professionals who make management decisions is less studied. This thesis explores how issues regarding active intervention in nature are represented, debated and institutionalized within Swedish nature conservation, and to what effect. The empirical focus lies on policy struggles around the designation and management of protected forests and around efforts to save a nationally threatened bird species, the white-backed woodpecker. My analytical framework is informed by Argumentative Discourse Analysis and Political Discourse Theory, to which I contribute a further elaboration of the notion of discourse institutionalization. Based on documents and interviews with conservation professionals, I identify competing articulations of the ends and means of conservation and relate these to scholarly debates around ecological restoration and interventionist conservation management. The analysis further focuses on how elements of the different policy discourses are institutionalized in rules, routines or official policy documents. Two main competing policy discourses are found: one focused on leaving pristine nature to develop freely, and one focused on active, adaptive management for biodiversity. While the former has previously been said to characterize the Swedish conservation bureaucracy, my analysis shows it is now widely seen as outd, Ecosystem restoration in policy and practice: restore, develop, adapt (RESTORE)

This article investigates the space for agency of the Indigenous Sami in the management of the Laponia World Heritage site in northern Sweden. Analysing policy documents and interviews with key actors within a framework of post-colonial and discourse theory, I argue that discursive constructions of the management organisation, understandings of the relationships between the parties involved, and perceptions of challenges for the management organisation affect the Sami space for agency in the management of Laponia. Furthermore, there is a tension between the intrinsic value of Sami influence that follows an understanding of the Sami as an Indigenous people and the more instrumental value of Sami influence following a focus on the Sami reindeer-herding communities as important for the values of the World Heritage site. The positioning of the Sami in Laponia affects, and in some ways limits, the space for Sami political agency. It also connects to colonial discourses, historical and contemporary inequalities, and unequal power structures. Nevertheless, the management of Laponia is a unique example of increased Sami influence, resulting from Sami political struggle for recognition of their rights., First published online 16 April 2015., Indigenous rights and nature conservation

Protected areas remain a cornerstone for global conservation. However, their effectiveness at halting biodiversity decline is not fully understood. Studies of protected area benefits have largely focused on measuring their impact on halting deforestation and have neglected to measure the impacts of protected areas on other threats. Evaluations that measure the impact of protected area management require more complex evaluation designs and datasets. This is the case across realms (terrestrial, freshwater, marine), but measuring the impact of protected area management in freshwater systems may be even more difficult owing to the high level of connectivity and potential for threat propagation within systems (e.g. downstream flow of pollution). We review the potential barriers to conducting impact evaluation for protected area management in freshwater systems. We contrast the barriers identified for freshwater systems to terrestrial systems and discuss potential measurable outcomes and confounders associated with protected area management across the two realms. We identify key research gaps in conducting impact evaluation in freshwater systems that relate to three of their major characteristics: variability, connectivity and time lags in outcomes. Lastly, we use Kakadu National Park world heritage area, the largest national park in Australia, as a case study to illustrate the challenges of measuring impacts of protected area management programmes for environmental outcomes in freshwater systems.

Zaštićenim područjima u Republici Hrvatskoj upravljaju Javne ustanove za upravljanje zaštićenim dijelovima prirode koje se osnivaju uredbom Vlade; za zaštitu prirode u Republici Hrvatskoj nadležno je Ministarstvo zaštite okoliša i prirode pri čemu se upravni poslovi zaštite prirode obavljaju u Upravi za zaštitu prirode a stručni poslovi u Državnom zavodu za zaštitu prirode na državnoj razini te u Uredima državne uprave u županijama i Gradu Zagrebu nadležnima za poslove zaštite prirode, odnosno javnim ustanovama za upravljanje zaštićenim prirodnim vrijednostima županija, gradova i općina te javnim ustanovama nacionalnih parkova i parkova prirode. U upravljanju zaštićenim područjima u Republici Hrvatskoj izrazito je prisutna politička dimenzija budući da država svoja osnivačka i upravljačka prava prenosi na resorno ministarstvo (izvršno političko tijelo) koje zatim delegira menadžment koji neposredno upravlja zaštićenim područjem, pri čemu je teško ili nemoguće izbjeći politički utjecaj. Ovakvim izborom tipa upravljanja država se osigurava da će definirani politički ciljevi nacionalne razine biti implementirani na sve razine zaštićenog područja. Na takav način izabran menadžment generalno definira smjernice razvoja zaštićenog područja te se u smislu provedbe istih na nižoj hijerarhijskoj razini (zaštićenom području) između ostalog i politički dodatno osigurava na način da na prijedlog za to ovlaštenih tijela unutar zaštićenog područja odobrava/ usvaja/ donosi akte odnosno definira smjer daljnjeg razvoja zaštićenog područja. Upravno vijeće čije članove bira ministar resornog ministarstva upravlja zaštićenim područjem dok poslovanje ustanove koja upravlja zaštićenim područjem organizira i vodi ravnatelj kojeg na temelju javnog natječaja također imenuje ministar resornog ministarstva. Iz navedenog je vidljivo da je donošenje odluka u zaštićenom području u većoj ili manjoj mjeri politički uvjetovano te da sustav omogućava da se politička odluka (ne)posrednim putem integri, Protected areas in the Republic of Croatia are managed by public institutions that are founded by government directive; authorized for nature protection in the Republic of Croatia is the Ministry for environment and nature protection, and administrative affairs are officiated in the directorate for nature protection and professional affairs in Public institute for nature protection (national level) and public administration in counties and Zagreb authorized for nature protection affairs. In protected areas management in the Republic of Croatia political dimension is extremely present because the Government transfers its founder and managerial rights on to the authorized ministry ( executive political authority) which then delegates the management that directly manages protected areas, whereat it is not possible to avoid political impact. By choosing this type of management the Government ensures that the set political aims on national level will be implemented on all levels of the protected area management. In that way the management defines guidelines for protected areas development; also, to make sure that political aims are implemented in lower hierarchical levels ( protected areas), it authorises, adopts and brings documents i.e. defines the direction of further protected area developement. Members of Governinig council of the protected area are choosen and named by the ministar; the council manages protected area daily business activities are managed by general manager who is also ( after conducted public tender ) is also named by the ministar. All above shows that decision making in protected areas is in certain level politically conditioned, and that the system itself allowes political decision to (in)directly integrate in all levels of decision making, with or without the democratic ability to have influence on it, since the authotity that de facto suggests and makes decisions (ministry) is apsolute authority. Even though the position of general manager is n

This publication aims to advance conceptual thinking and legal understanding about important law and policy tools and options for supporting the connectivity of protected area systems. The legal research and analyses reflected in this paper span international, regional, national and local levels. A range of legal instruments existing in most national legal systems, from conservation and sustainable use laws to land use planning, development control, voluntary conservation and economic instruments are explored. The paper is intended to offer concrete ideas of existing and potential legal tools and approaches that countries can use immediately to initiate priority connectivity conservation actions and to strengthen them progressively. It also is intended to provide a conceptual baseline for future research and case studies to continue to define and develop connectivity conservation law for supporting protected areas and for providing opportunities to address climate change as part of biodiversity conservation agendas.

Specific land uses, many of them considered as traditional practices, have contributed to nature conservation in that they have given rise to a valued landscape and a high degree of biological and cultural diversity. The result is the rural cultural landscape, also characterised by its multi-functionality, stability and adaptation to local conditions. Nonetheless, the abandonment of rural cultural landscapes constitutes the current trend in many regions. Although one way to preserve rural cultural landscapes involves establishing protected areas, management often forgets, or even restricts, the traditional rural activities that had contributed to the high conservation values recognised in these areas. In the present paper we applied a quantitative model to examine changes in rural cultural landscapes and in the socioeconomy of local populations following the establishment of a protected area. We formalised the relationship of dependence between landscape change and socioeconomy by means of multivariate ordination analysis and multiple regression calculation. The simple equation obtained shows the socioeconomic parameters that best account for change in the landscape and indicate their sign and importance. The results show that providing Regional Park protection status has not prevented the decline of traditional farming activities and, in turn, ecological succession has led to an intense shrub encroachment process. Such a change could be considered to be the result of a nature protection policy inspired by ideas of naturalness and wilderness. Our model also helps us to establish and formalise the dependence of the cultural landscape upon a socio-cultural system, which is currently undergoing rapid change, and brings us to consider the parameters of this change as indicators for management., Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Fac. de Ciencias Biológicas, TRUE, pub

There has been a dramatic increase in the area that is within the National Reserve System since 2000 – from around 60 million hectares to around 100 million in 2008. This dramatic increase can be attributed to Indigenous Protected Areas and the acquisition of private or leasehold land for either addition to the public protected area estate or management as private protected areas. This growth has also been strategic, increasingly the reservation status of the most underreserved bioregions. However, the reality is the land acquisition has slowed since the global financial crisis of the late 2000s and this has led to new models with different partners coming to the fore. This chapter highlights one of those new models – the acquisition of Fish River Station in the Northern Territory for conservation.

The Agoua Forest in Benin was declared a protected area in 1953 and subsequently managed by means of a coercion system, which, however, did not prevent its deforestation. In 2002, a participatory management process was designed to restore this forest. Although the project managers and local communities agreed to a plan at the beginning of the process, the plan was not implemented because conflict arose in the course of the process. In this paper, an interactional framing approach was used to analyse the emergence of this conflict, which ended in an impasse. This study showed that the conflict was constructed and evolved mainly in stakeholders' discourses, even without changes in actual forest management and use. Moreover, it became clear that stakeholders constructed different frames in different conversation contexts: stakeholders, who share a set of perceptions, norms, and expectations as constructed and expressed in their talks (we-groups), constructed stereotypes and stigmas, blaming the other party and presenting themselves as innocent victims. In conversations involving all stakeholders, people did not reveal their real thoughts, either about each other or about the proposals for conflict resolution. This study shows the relevance and agency of discourse in conflict, and the importance of the interactional framing approach in understanding participatory management, and conflict dynamics. It reveals how by means of discourses, farmers in the Agoua Forest succeeded in handling the conflict, with the effect that little has been done in the project's decision to implement the plan

National Heritage Areas (NHAs) are an alternative and increasingly popularform of protected area management in the United States. NHAs seek tointegrate environmental objectives with community and economicobjectives at regional or landscape scales. NHA designations have increasedrapidly in the last 20 years, generating a substantial need for evaluativeinformation about (a) how NHAs work; (b) outcomes associated with theNHA process; and (c) the costs and benefits of investing public moneys intothe NHA approach. Qualitative evaluation studies recently conducted at three NHAs have identified the importance of understanding networkstructure and function in the context of evaluating NHA managementeffectiveness. This article extends these case studies by examiningquantitative network data from each of the sites. The authors analyze thesedata using both a descriptive approach and a statistically more robustapproach known as exponential random graph modeling. Study findingsindicate the presence of transitive structures and the absence of three-cyclestructures in each of these networks. This suggests that these networks arerelatively ‘‘open,’’ which may be desirable, given the uncertainty of the environments in which they operate. These findings also suggest, at least at the sitesreported here, that the NHA approach may be an effective way to activate anddevelop networks of intersectoral organizational partners. Finally, this studydemonstrates the utility of using quantitative network analysis to better understand the effectiveness of protected area management models that rely onpartnership networks to achieve their intended outcomes.

Resource and visitor experience degradation in Haleakalā National Park resulting from recreational use of the Pools of 'Ohe'o has led park officials to discourage visitor use of the pools. This study uses the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to examine relationships among visitors' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control with regard to exploring the pools, their intentions to explore, and their actual behaviors while visiting the pools. Further, this study examines the influence of persuasive messages on visitors' behavior at the pools. Persuasive message treatments emphasize either the dangers of exploring the Pools of 'Ohe'o or resource protection and visitor experience impacts of recreational use at the pools. Through regression analysis of attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control with intention to explore, TPB is generally found to be an effective model for understanding visitor behavior at 'Ohe'o's Pools, particularly when visitors are exposed to persuasive messages. Results of analysis of variance indicate that the TPB model components of attitudes and subjective norms with regard to traveling companions and National Park Service officials are influenced by exposure to the persuasive treatment messages. Additionally, both intention to explore the pools and observed exploration behavior are significantly lower among those visitors receiving any persuasive treatment message. Thus, results of this research generally support the individual relationships assumed within TPB. With identification of the most influential components of visitor behavior, as understood through the TPB model developed in this study, managers of Haleakalā National Park will be able to develop and apply persuasive interpretive messages that maximize safe and sensitive visitor recreational behavior at the Pools of 'Ohe'o.

This article reviews narratives and trends in biodiversity conservation and protected area (PA) managem

Several studies in the field of outdoor recreation management and planning have used computer simulation modeling to demonstrate its utility as a tool to help managers monitor encounters and similar visitor use-related indicators of quality. However, previous applications of computer simulation modeling to outdoor recreation planning and management have generally done little to assess the reliability, or precision, of model estimates. The purpose of this research is to explore several questions concerning the reliability of computer simulation model estimates for monitoring wilderness solitude-related indicators of quality. In particular, can reliable estimates of solitude-related indicators be generated for low use recreation environments, such as backcountry and wilderness areas? Is there a spatial component to questions about the reliability of computer simulation estimates for low use visitor landscapes? The research presented in this thesis examines the reliability of computer simulation estimates of wilderness solitude indicators that account for the timing and location of hiking and camping encounters in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This study was designed to model visitor use and inter-group encounters in the Cosby and Big Creek areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which are located within the park's proposed wilderness area. Two primary types of information about visitor use in the study area were collected to construct the computer simulation model in this study. First, information was gathered about the amount of visitation to the study area; second, information was collected about visitors' travel routes within the study area. Three alternative methods were used to estimate the number of replications needed to obtain desired levels of precision for the visitor-based and spatially based computer simulation model outputs. The results suggest that computer simulation models of visitor use can generate precise estimates fo

Included in this thesis are two papers describing companion studies which employed complementary methodologies to study the issue of how Acadia National Park might balance resource protection efforts and maintain quality visitor experiences on the summit of Cadillac Mountain. In the first study, stated choice analysis was used to assess visitors' preferences for alternative combinations of public access, resource protection, visitor regulation, and site hardening to manage the Cadillac Mountain summit. Results suggest that visitors consider resource protection to be a priority and are willing to accept regulation of their behavior onsite, reinforced with the use of moderately to highly intensive management structures, but generally don't support limiting public access to the summit to achieve resource protection objectives. In the second study, qualitative interviews were conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of visitor experiences on the summit of Cadillac Mountain and how site management actions designed to achieve resource protection objectives might affect visitors' experiences. Respondents indicated that the summit of Cadillac Mountain is a centerpiece of Acadia National Park, and their experiences of the mountain summit are centered around the aesthetics and naturalness of Cadillac Mountain. Several factors emerged as influencing whether site management actions are deemed appropriate by visitors and perceived to affect visitors' experiences. In particular, site management structures that were perceived to blend in with the surroundings, be constructed of natural materials and protect vegetation were considered appropriate and of little consequence to visitors' experiences. Some study participants also suggested that site management structures that provide visitors with the opportunity to freely demonstrate their choice to help protect vegetation and soils can enhance visitors' experiences. In contrast, site management structures and actions perceived

Co-management agreements for land and resource management can be viewed as emerging forms of a participatory planning model. They strive for equal aboriginal involvement and result not only in more equitable management strategies, but also incorporate aboriginal worldviews and traditional knowledge. This type of planning model is an iterative learning process for all parties involved and is most effective when mechanisms and processes to develop a co-management agreement are situational and contextually appropriate to each location and aboriginal group involved. Co-management agreements should be valued as interim forms that bridge restrictions on and exclusion of aboriginal peoples’ use and influence in relation to land and natural resources, on one side, and complete control through self-government, on the other. This practicum assesses levels of co-management for two case studies by: reviewing relevant literature, analyzing the co-management agreements and plans of management and surveying key personnel at Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia and the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site in Canada. The study does conclude that the degree of involvement of aboriginal participation is still wanting, but is higher than it would be if no such framework had been applied. To achieve the full benefits of equality in power distribution, the author suggests that co-management at the highest level should be negotiated either within or as part of land claims agreement or as part of a land title transfer to traditional owners.

Ecotourism and protected area visitation have been steadily increasing in recent years in Central and South America, inevitably resulting in natural resource impacts. The consequences of such impacts may include natural resource degradation, diminished aesthetic qualities, or decreased functionality of certain facilities like recreation sites and trails. Recreation ecology and visitor impact management expertise and tools are available to help balance the potentially conflicting management goals of protecting natural resources and permitting visitation but such knowledge has not been widely used in Central and South America. The goals of this research were to characterize certain visitor-related natural resource impacts and to determine how these impacts could be assessed and managed in Central and South America. The research included case studies of eight protected areas in Costa Rica and Belize, trail impact assessment research at Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, and development of a new visitor impact assessment and management framework, presented as three papers intended for journal submission. The first paper had two objectives: 1) to identify visitor-related natural resource impacts at selected protected areas in Costa Rica and Belize to increase awareness about visitor impact problems, and 2) to apply and compare rapid trail and recreation site impact assessment procedures to provide study site managers with impact data and impact assessment procedures. A variety of natural resource impacts were reported by interview subjects and recorded by rapid assessment procedures. The management utility of the rapid trail and recreation site impact assessment procedures were compared and discussed and the need for developing additional rapid assessment procedures to evaluate other resource impacts reported by protected area managers was also identified. The intent of the second paper was to investigate trail impacts at Torres del Paine National Park. Study objec