Citizen participation in the conservation and use of rural landscapes in Britain: the Alport Valley case study

Abstract

With the shift from the formerly dominating primary production sector to the secondary and now the tertiary sector, the vast majority of the population has lost direct influence on shaping our landscape. However, public interest in landscape and environmental decision making remains active. Approaches to public participation were introduced some decades ago, but only sporadically. International declarations and conventions of strategic importance, such as the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the AARHUS Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, provide the foundation for integration in national regulations addressing public involvement in decision making. Using the Alport Valley in the Peak District National Park, UK, this case study illustrates how planning proposals that did not involve stakeholders and their opinions came to a halt and had to be changed. Through stakeholder involvement, there is now a broad consensus about the future of this landscape. As part of an iterative consultation and participation process, a long-term vision for the landscape and land management of the Alport Valley has been developed to improve the valley’s special landscape character, enhance its visual and recreational attractiveness and regenerate the woodlands in ways that maximise the long-term benefit for ecology, wildlife and landscape.