Biosphere Reserve for All: Potentials for Involving Underrepresented Age Groups in the Development of a Biosphere Reserve through Intergenerational Practice

Tamara Mitrofanenko,Andreas Muhar,Marianne Penker,Julia Snajdr,Elisabeth Schauppenlehner-Kloyber

doi:10.1007/s00267-018-1059-9

Tamara Mitrofanenko, Andreas Muhar + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1059-9

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Abstract

Stakeholder participation is of high importance in UNESCO biosphere reserves as model regions for sustainable development; however, certain groups remain underrepresented. The paper proposes Intergenerational Practice (IP) as a means of involving youth and elderly women and explores its options and barriers, using the example of the Salzburger Lungau and Kärntner Nockberge Biosphere Reserve in Austria. Case study analysis is used involving mixed methods. The results reveal obstacles and motivations to participating in biosphere reserve implementation and intergenerational activities for the youth and the elderly women and imply that much potential for IP exists in the biosphere reserve region. The authors propose suitable solutions from the intergenerational field to overcome identified participation obstacles and suggest benefits of incorporating IP as a management tool into biosphere reserve activities. Suggestions for future research include evaluating applications of IP in the context of protected areas, testing of methods used in other contexts, and contribution to theory development.

Highlights

Biosphere Reserves and ParticipationBiosphere reserves are conceptualized by the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) as model regions for sustainable development, where the paradigm of combining nature conservation with economic development and maintaining cultural values is tested, refined and implemented (UNESCO 1996)
The results presented in this paper with respect to the obstacles to participation in biosphere reserve activities are complementary to those found in the study of the Nockberge (Huber et al 2014) and that of the Lungau, cited above (Huber and Arnberger 2016); following-up on previous assessments after the reserve implementation, we provide additional insights into the attitudes and needs of elderly women and youth and focus on the groups, which have hardly been previously approached
Both the reported motivations for and the obstacles to Intergenerational Practice (IP) are consistent with the studies and literature from other application contexts (Zeldin et al 2005; EAGLE Project 2008; Newman and Hatton-Yeo 2008; Springate et al 2008; Pinto 2009; Van Vliet 2011), and demonstrate some similarities between the two age groups analyzed in this study (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Biosphere Reserves and ParticipationBiosphere reserves are conceptualized by the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) as model regions for sustainable development, where the paradigm of combining nature conservation with economic development and maintaining cultural values is tested, refined and implemented (UNESCO 1996). Involvement of diverse population groups in local planning and development processes, including conservation activities, is a critical issue of both equity and environmental justice (Zeldin et al 2005; Buffel et al 2014; Mitrofanenko 2016) and a democratic necessity (Schliep and Stoll-Kleemann 2010) It can facilitate a local sense of place and sustainable community development (Edge and McAllister 2009; Holden 2011) and ensure long-term success and quality in particular of those management processes, which require integration of different forms of knowledge and co-management (Zeldin et al 2005; Berkes 2009; Raymond et al 2010; Schliep and Stoll-Kleemann 2010; Schauppenlehner-Kloyber and Penker 2014). In the case of protected areas, understanding their objectives and the rationale for their designation is a major factor in developing a positive attitude towards these areas among the local population (Xu et al 2006; Huber and Arnberger 2016; Hernes and Metzger 2017; Van Cuong et al 2017); besides, participatory management approaches may facilitate a higher degree of legitimacy and acceptance of processes and solutions by creating local support for protected area-related decisions and management practices after designation (Stoll-Kleemann and Welp 2008)

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