Pichler-Koban Christina

Society and Protected Areas in Flux - a history of conceptions of protected areas by the example of eigth protected areas in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Gesellschaft und Schutzgebiete im Wandel - Geschichte der Schutzgebietskonzeptionen am Beispiel von acht Schutzgebieten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz


Project Number: CH-4812
Project Type: Research_Project
Project Duration: 01/01/2012 - 12/31/2014
Funding Source: other ,
Project Leader: Frau Christina Pichler-Koban
E.C.O. Institut für Ökologie
Lakeside B07 B, 2. OG
AT-9020 Klagenfurt
Austria
Phone: +43 463 504 144-21
FAX: +43 463 504 144-4
e-Mail: pichler-koban(at)e-c-o.at
http://www.e-c-o.at

related to this project.
for which the project has a relevance.


Research Areas:
Living Space

Disciplines:
Legal and Social sciences, Economics

Keywords:
conservation concepts, conservation history, protected areas, German-speaking countries

Abstract:
In a research project, which was carried out from 2004 to 2007, the conceptions for nature conservation in Austria were examined. So-called “lists of events” were drawn up as a showcase for four protected areas: Hohe Tauern National Park, Donau-Auen National Park, Wienerwald Biosphere Reserve, Dobratsch Nature Park. Each “event” listed (e.g. the declaration of a nature conservation area or the demonstration against the construction of a power station) represents a milestone in the development of the area and was analysed from a socio-historical point of view. As part of an ongoing research project supported by Bristol Foundation four protected areas in Germany and Switzerland are now being included in the study: Berchtesgaden National Park, Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, Swiss National Park, Parc Adula. The historical and social context of different tendencies in nature conservation is examined through key events, and a chronological inventory is created of the conceptions for nature conservation occurring in the individual areas. The relevance of the identified conceptions for nature conservation to the current events in the protected areas is analysed.
The project is intended as a contribution to gaining an understanding of the conceptions and approaches used historically and today, in relation to nature protection in Europe. Conceptions for nature conservation can be viewed both as consequences and as counter-movements to social trends and developments. It is not always possible to precisely assign the actors involved. The same individuals can appear both as promoters and as opponents of nature protection. The insights gained from the project shall provide support to all actors involved with protected areas, helping them to understand their own role in current events in nature protection. The objectives of nature conservation today are far more complicated and diffuse than they were in the past. At the same time there is now an opportunity for nature protection to act as the creator of new possibilities – particularly in large modern protected areas. It is hoped that the results of the study will encourage the involved parties to critically reflect upon current strategies in nature conservation, and to reconsider them, where necessary.
The comparison of several nations reveals where protected areas quite literally reach their borders. The project is also intended as a contribution to allowing nature conservation to be grasped and negotiated as a cross-country and cross-nation phenomenon. The authors hope to provide a significant contribution to the debate on the “dynamics and conservation in protected areas“, and actively seek to enter into dialogue with all actors involved in events surrounding nature protection.


Leading questions:
1. How can different conceptions for nature conservation be explained by their social and historical context, and how can they be rationalised?
2. What influence does a changing society have on the perception of and the demands on protected areas?
3. Which similarities/differences can be noted when comparing the development of protected areas in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and which influence do international conservation policies show in the respective country?


Publications:
Pichler-Koban, C. & Jungmeier, M. 2013: Protected Areas and Society in Flux - more than one hundres years of nature conservation in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In: Conference volume 5th Symposium for Research in Protected Areas. 10-12 June 2013 Mittersill, 577-582


Last update: 12/27/16
Source of data: ProClim- Research InfoSystem (1993-2024)
Update the data of project: CH-4812

Go Back