People and Nature Conservation: Participatory Praxis in the Planning and Management of Natural Protected Areas

Abstract

Relationships between humans and nature management face several problems, mainly regarding land use and biodiversity conservation in natural protected areas. Indeed, land-sparing strategies have often been sources of conflicts between local people and conservation institutions, since these strategies are based, in some cases, on non-shared rules and eliminating traditional activities. Some evidences suggest that all stakeholders should be involved through participative strategies as the only way for the effective planning and management of natural protected areas. Moreover, limited management budgets, large areas, and fragmented land use, among other issues, can hinder the feasible control required by management based only on land-sparing strategies and imposed rules. Participative praxis requires a long-term approach to work with people involved in natural protected areas in order to achieve effective and real community participation. Effective participation involves more than “light” participation such as consultation or information providing. Participation must ensure stakeholders really take part in decision-making processes. In short, participation should be an aim in itself, rather than a way of achieving some other goals. In this chapter, we analyze several experiences of participatory appraisal and planning processes in natural protected areas in Spain. We focus on the constraints and failures of participative practices from two points of view. On the one hand, internal problems are studied such as different technical, procedural, and cultural constraints, and, on the other hand, external influences are analyzed like the effects of the surroundings or stakeholders’ participation.