Consuming Nature–Producing Heritage: Aspects on Conservation, Economical Growth and Community Participation in a Forested, Sparsely Populated Area in Sweden

Abstract

The nature conservation and heritage management policies of Sweden are moving towards integration. They are also promoting the increased public use of natural and heritage resources, and greater participation by local citizens in their management. In forested, sparsely populated areas, authorities are promoting tourism, especially nature and heritage tourism, to create growth and replace jobs lost in industrial closures and in the heavily mechanised forestry industry. In the area discussed in this article, northern Värmland, Sweden, the local population did not find it attractive to work in touristic jobs. Most of the small‐scale tourist entrepreneurs are also ‘immigrants’ who often found it hard to achieve success in business. Heritage productions, however, have emerged as meeting places for local citizens, and as sources of community pride. To achieve development in forested, sparsely populated areas, there is a need for a broader approach, which relies less on tourism, and is more in harmony with the lifestyles of the local population.