MANAGING CONFLICTING ATTITUDES: NATIONAL PARKS IN ICELAND AND JAPAN ...

• Main Authors: Schaller, Harald, Jónasson, Haukur Ingi, Aikoh, Tetsuya
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: tourismos 2013
• Subjects: Vatnajökull; Iceland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26215/tourismos.v8i2.351; https://tourismosjournal.aegean.gr/article/view/351

For many protected areas, the inclusion of interested parties in decision-making processes has become both more important and common. The range of interests can lead to a variety of conflicts. Given the diversity of stakeholders, effective conflict management requires an integrated communicative approach that addresses this range interests. Yet the question remains: Are techniques developed for a specific case, and in one particular culture, applicable to other cases? To explore this question we compared the attitudes of stakeholders in Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland and Daisetsuzan National Park in Japan regarding conflict, communication and consensus. Despite the cultural and geographical distance between the two cases, the results show an 84% concurrence in stakeholder views, leading the authors to conclude that, despite minor differences, conflict management techniques can be applied across cultural borders provided that managers are sensitive to local understandings of how people relate to their ... : tourismos, Vol. 8 No. 2 (2013) ...