National park planning and local participation: Some reflections from a mountain region in southern Norway

The extent of protected areas is increasing worldwide. Traditionally a great deal of the protected lands have been situated in ecologically and economically marginal regions, such as mountains, often on state-owned land. In recent years, however, new designations have increasingly been applied to areas with more private land, more people, greater economic activity, and thus have resulted in a higher degree of conflict. Due to several forces, public involvement in natural resource planning is developing rapidly. This development is largely driven by environmental management institutions as a means to improve efficiency and equity in planning processes. Although well intended, these efforts often meet with problems caused by a lack of understanding of the community perspectives on resource conflicts. In this study we discuss our experiences from following the process of expansion of a national park in southern Norway. We argue that it is essential to understand the complex relationships and meanings local people develop with their surroundings in order to facilitate negotiation over contested issues. This has important implications for the way managers apply different types of knowledge, develop strategies, and communicate with local interests.