Public views on the Central Highland National Park - conditions for a consensus among recreational users

The establishment of a National Park in the Central Highland of Iceland, now on the forefront of the political agenda, would set a milestone in the nature conservation history of Iceland and constitute the largest national park in Europe. While this project enjoys a broad public support, underlying expectations and reluctances have not been documented. Using a nation-wide quantitative survey, the general aim of this research is to provide a more comprehensive overview of the public attitudes towards the proposed national park and related land-use issues. The results confirm that the park is widely supported by the public and reveal that their views on road and accommodation development are however much more divided. These divergences point to potential conflict areas that should be addressed while establishing the National Park. Beyond conservation objectives, supporters of the park put a strong emphasis on its ability to manage tourism in the area, while the opposition is concerned by the reduction of opportunities for public outdoor recreation, the operational cost of the park and governance issues. The users of the area expressed more polarized views than non-users towards the park and road developments, and differences among them were observed in regard with their recreational profiles. From a management perspective, this study concludes that stakeholder consultation is of a vital importance to address their expectations and secure a broader consensus among the users of the area.

Author dc:creator

• Michael Bishop 1993-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskóli Íslands

• Landfræði
• Ferðamálafræði
• Þjóðgarðar
• Hálendi Íslands
• Almenningsálit
• National parks and reserves
• Highlands
• Public opinion

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/35926

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/35926