Why does nobody ask us? Impacts on local perception of a protected area in designation, Slovenia

Abstract

The perceptions and attitude of local people towards a protected area have been identified in literature as a key factor for its success, since perceptions affect operations within the environment. The study identifies and analyses the perceptions of local stakeholders in the Slovenian Kamniško-Savinjske Alps Regional Park in designation in order to improve further stakeholder participation planning in the establishment and management of the park. Contrary to similar studies, the study is carried out on the case of the park in designation where the attitudes of local stakeholders strongly influence the process of establishment. The qualitative method of the grounded theory is used to inductively develop the theory from in-depth, semi-structured, and open-ended interviews with local stakeholders and park founders. The article discovers links between main entities influencing the perception and provides a more comprehensive description of the reasons and the background of their formation. The perception of benefits, the inclusion in the park establishment and past experiences with institutions represented by founders have the most influence on the local stakeholders’ attitudes towards the park.