Between nature and landscape: The role of community towards an active conservation in protected areas

Abstract

The application of governance practices in the Italian Gran Sasso and Laga Mountains National Park (Abruzzo region) represents the case study on the base of which this paper explores some issues about conservation and enhancement of landscape. The analysis of the pros and cons expressed by local stakeholders with regard to some infrastructure initiatives the Park managed on its territory highlights the need to combine these types of actions with processes of more inclusive regional development. A central role can be played by the activation of a participative relation between local populations and the parks for the management of territory. Whereas the former are to be meant as important custodians of local knowledge, for their position in between nature and landscape, the latter may represent “bridge institutions”, potentially prone to mediate between the global instances (related to the need to assert sustainability in the ongoing development paths worldwide) and territorial specific social needs.