Abstract
When the first protected areas in the European Alps were established as national parks, biocentric ideas of nature protection and research-oriented ecological approaches were at the heart of these efforts, and gender issues were not considered. With the paradigm shift toward integrative biodiversity politics, gender issues gained significance. In addition, the European Commission Women's Charta 2010, on building a gender perspective into all policies in accordance with the European theme “united in diversity,” required the integration of gender considerations into regional development, including protected areas. Based on a document analysis, an online survey, qualitative interviews, and focus group discussions, this article shows how widely gender mainstreaming is accepted and in which aspects of protected mountain areas gender perspectives are already considered important. Inspired by concepts from gender research and available options for regional (mountain) development, new items are recommended for a mountain agenda.
Highlights
As early as 1998 the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) announced a gender commitment, calling for: ‘‘the promotion of equity and equality as a crucial factor for environmental sustainability and an integral part of all conservation efforts
How widely is gender mainstreaming accepted, and in which aspects of protected mountain areas are gender perspectives already considered important? Results from our online survey, qualitative interviews, and focus groups suggest the following: N Gender-specific visitor monitoring and research results from master’s and PhD theses exist, but they are not used in decisions about day-to-day operations; practitioners do not work with these numbers
The international gender commitments and the paradigm shift toward integrative biodiversity politics open up the possibility of considering social and cultural aspects in general and gender perspectives in particular within regional and protected-area development
Summary
As early as 1998 the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) announced a gender commitment, calling for: ‘‘the promotion of equity and equality as a crucial factor for environmental sustainability and an integral part of all conservation efforts. In 2005 ‘‘the veritable role of gender equity in the management and conservation of protected areas’’ was emphasized, and further, ‘‘Gender equity is mentioned as an important emerging issue for the 21st century to achieve equitable benefit sharing and more effective governance systems’’ (Huber et al 2013: 29). This is documented in the proceedings of the World Park Congress (IUCN 2005). It stressed the importance of acknowledging women as ‘‘capable, knowledgeable agents who adapt to climate change and ensure sustainable livelihoods and environments’’ (Khadka and Verma 2012: 48; see Verma 2014, in this issue)
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