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MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling

Building trust to environmental policy as catalyst for a green transition

Alternative title: Bygge tillit til miljøpolitikken som katalysator for en grønn overgang

Awarded: NOK 6.9 mill.

Project Number:

280325

Application Type:

Project Period:

2018 - 2022

Location:

Partner countries:

PARKAS (Building trust to environmental policy as catalyst for a green transition, 2018-2021, Norwegian Research Council, Environmental Research Program MILJØFORSK), investigated the nature conservation management system in Norwegian National Parks Hardangervidda and Saltfjellet-Svartisen. National and international comparative studies supplement the research with experiences from Svalbard, France, Finland, and South Africa. Research group: Norwegian Institute for cultural heritage research (NIKU, project manager), Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Nordland Research Institute (NRI), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), and Museums in Akershus (MiA). Norwegian reference group: managers, regional and national organizations, directorates, and municipalities. European reference group: VetAgro Sup (F), University of Newcastle (UK), Cornwall Council (UK), University of Wageningen (NL), University College London (UK), and University of Ghent (B). In PARKAS we explored how biodiversity, cultural and natural values and other environmental benefits can best be preserved in the complex management system of national parks. The starting point for the project was that the public's trust in management and political decisions is fundamental to find long-term solutions and achieve sustainable goals. We have sought to provide a better knowledge of cultural heritage as an important resource for protecting natural values and raise awareness of nature and culture connections. Our main goal was to take everyone's interests into account to facilitate a more comprehensive management practice in national parks. Trust and exchange were a prerequisite in the project. Since 2018, we have collected a representative amount of data in both national parks through in-depth interviews, with managers and local groups, and fieldwork including observations, botanical surveys and landscape analyses, frequently with informants. We held several meetings and workshops with local and regional actors on the topics of management practices, knowledge exchange, collaboration, and technological solutions. We organized 3 seminars with scientific lectures and discussions on complementary topics between the research group, the reference group, and partners from Europe: "The integration of cultural heritage in national park management" (Geilo, 6-8 November 2018), "Future parks: why should we listen to people?", digital meeting, 3-4. June 2021), and "Building trust in environmental policy as a catalyst for a green transition" (Oslo/digital meeting, 1-2 June 2022). We also delivered several presentations on natural and cultural heritage and national park management in local, regional and national seminars and international conferences (most recently, Norske Parker Living Landscapes Conference, 10-12 May 2022, and LAC2020+, 8-11 June 2021). We also organized a study trip to France to learn about national and regional parks in the Alps and Auvergne ("International comparative studies: management practices and economic, political and cultural differences" 14-18 oct 2019). During the pandemic 2020-2021, we attached great importance to maintaining continuous dialogue and collaboration with local stakeholders in Hardangervidda and Nordland. Participatory processes, active knowledge-exchange and digital solutions were used, as well as popular dissemination and communication of research and results. In 2021, we organized two local digital workshops in Hardangervidda (topic: «Local knowledge about nature and culture is important in cultural environment policy: how to safeguard local values for the future?», 28.1.2021 and 25.2.2021). The events anchored PARKAS results in the local culture/nature-based knowledge and provided a better understanding of cultural and natural heritage connections. Several follow-up interviews were conducted by teleconference and by phone in 2021 and 2022. Technological solutions for cultural heritage registration were tested in Hardangervidda in collaboration with Viken County Municipality and the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate. This has provided valuable information about user-friendly field technology for cultural heritage recording that can be adapted to multiple purposes and secure natural and cultural historical values for the future. PARKAS scientific publications deal with national park management, cultural heritage and trust, with intertwined topics about cultural heritage protection, environmental policy, participation, identity, knowledge building, sustainable development, tourism and wear, technological innovation. Newspaper articles, scientific paper, book chapter, and an ArcGIS StoryMap about technological solutions, have already been published. Several other are expected to be published in 2022 and 2023. We are working with knowledge dissemination and EU/national spin-off projects. Read more on PARKA's website https://parkas.niku.no/ and at niku.no

PARKAS har tre overordnede, sammenkoblede studiemål: 1) bygge tillit til miljøpolitikk, og til natur- og kulturarvforvaltning, 2) forbedre samordning mellom ulike forvaltningsområder, og 3) integrere kulturarven innenfor en dominerende naturvernramme. Det er behov for en ytterligere forståelse av kulturarvens forankring og rolle i miljø- og samfunnsmessige forhold i verneområder, inkludert praksiser rettet mot forvaltning. Det er også et behov for å ta lærdom av tradisjonell lokalkunnskap, ressursbruk og fortiden, for å finne langsiktige løsninger og vernetiltak som svarer på utfordringene som adresseres i FNs bærekraftsmålene. PARKAS resultater primært gir en bedre forståelse av dagens nasjonalparkforvaltningssystem og kulturarvens plass i store verneområder. I prosjektet har vi søkt å gjengi en sann tolkning av situasjonen og legger fram kvaliteter, potensialer, interesser, og eventuelle konflikter mellom aktørene. Vårt mål har vært å fortelle og informere øvrige forvaltere, ansvarlige etater og myndigheter, og på sikt bringe fram bedre tilpasset løsninger og praksiser. Resultatene gir også en klar indikasjon på at tillit til miljøpolitikken er sentral for hvorvidt forvaltningen av verneområder er vellykket. Forskningsaktivitetene i prosjektet, samt arrangementer og publiseringer, har hatt som hovedmål å danne en helhetlig kunnskap og tilrettelegge for at forvaltningspraksisen skal kunne forbedres gjennom økt samarbeid mellom interessegrupper. Et like viktig mål har vært å sikre natur- og kulturverdier nasjonalparkene betjener samfunnet med. Vi har satt oss fore å få en bedre forståelse og anerkjennelse av kulturarven i verneområder og gjøre den informasjonen lettere tilgjengelig for samfunnet og brukere. Vår ambisjon med PARKAS er at prosjektresultatene bidrar til et mer forent, bedre integrert og tverrfaglig nasjonalparkforvaltningssystem.

The project takes as point of departure the necessity of public trust to political decision-making and formal management actions as fundamental for achieving sustainability goals. We use protected landscapes through a focus on National Park (NP) and Landscape Protection Area (LVO) management to study environmental policy and its impacts for the transition to a green society. Management of such high nature and cultural value landscapes extends across a wide range of policy fields and public interests; biodiversity, cultural heritage, the outdoors, public health, demography and rural socioeconomic development. Rural-urban relationships are formed through interdependencies of various transactions in such fields through mobilities of populations, communities, economics and environments. Hence the services of environmental goods produced in connection to protected remote landscapes are of benefit not only for local communities, but society at large. We have three overall aims:1) build trust to environmental policy and heritage management;2) improve collaborative governance;3) increase integration of cultural heritage within the dominant nature conservation framework of protected landscapes. Seeing opportunities as well as challenges of managing such landscapes, the project ambition is both sustaining and the enhancement of heritage values and their environmental services. This will be achieved through research and evaluation of existing heritage management framework, in practice involvement of stakeholders, and technological innovation. By experience, we depart from the strand that public participation is a prerequisite both for legitimacy and improved management, and that integration of cultural heritage in management of protected landscapes is a means to achieve this, because of the comprehensive user interests attached and potential of management contribution it represents. Overriding of user interests undermine the trust and legitimacy of management decisions.

Publications from Cristin

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Funding scheme:

MILJØFORSK-Miljøforskning for en grønn samfunnsomstilling