1. Participation in the implementation of Natura 2000
- Author
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Blondet, Marieke, de Koning, Jessica, Borrass, Lars, Ferranti, Francesca, Geitzenauer, Maria, Weiss, Gerhard, Turnhout, Esther, Winkel, Georg, Laboratoire d'Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB), AgroParisTech-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie (EAE), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Sociol & Anthropol Dev, Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Inst Environm Social Sci & Geog, Forest & Environm Policy, University of Freiburg, Res & Publishing, Nat & Soc Consultancy, Inst Forest Environm & Nat Resource Policy, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), Cent East European Reg Off, European Forest Ins EFICEEC, Forest & Nat Conservat Policy Grp, Forest Soc Res Programme, European Forest Institute = Institut Européen de la Forêt = Euroopan metsäinstituutti (EFI), BeFoFu, Austrian Wissenschaftsfond, French National Research Agency (ANR), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, UK's Natural Environment Research Council, UK's Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AgroParisTech, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)
- Subjects
CLIMATE-CHANGE ,CONSTRUCTION ,structure organisationnelle ,NETHERLANDS ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,FOREST POLICY ,EXPERIENCES ,BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ,ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ,CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ,EUROPEAN-UNION ,étude comparative ,natura 2000 ,état membre de l'union européenne ,union européenne ,MANAGEMENT ,participation ,comparative study - Abstract
The establishment of Natura 2000, the European Union's network of protected areas, has been a challenging process and has caused a variety of conflicts.These conflicts are related to contradictory stakeholder interests and perceptions, as well as to procedural issues and feelings of exclusion, especially by concerned local land user groups. To prevent further conflict, local participation has been stressed as an important tool to increase the inclusiveness of Natura 2000 and its acceptance among land users. In this paper, we present an analysis of participation practices related to the Natura 2000 implementation processes in six EU member states.Based on material collected from semi-structured interviews and document analysis, we describe the organisational settings of the participatory processes, focusing, among other things, on the type of participants involved, the level and intensity of their involvement, and the goal of participation. In addition, we also describe the local context in which the participation processes have been embedded. Finally, we assess the outcomes of the participatory processes in terms of their impact on forest and nature conservation management practicesOur results show that local participation practices were shaped not just by the Natura 2000 policy, but also by the history of the area, including, for example, earlier conflicts among the local actors. We also show that although the participation process leads to a greater acceptance of the Natura 2000 policy, this does not relate to significant changes in management practices among local actors. These findings, however, do not suggest that participation is irrelevant. Rather, we conclude that participation involves context-dependent, localised learning processes that can only be understood by taking the historical socio-economic and institutional context in which they are situated into account.
- Published
- 2017