Caught in the Net: Actors-Networks in the Management of the Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland

1. Caught in the Net:Actors-Networks in the Management of the Vatnajökull National Park in Iceland Harald Schaller hjs11@hi.is ngm2013 / 12.06.2013

2. Table of Content • Introduction • Tourism in Iceland • Nature conservation and Protected Areas • Previous studies and background of research • Conflict Management at Protected Areas • Trend at Protected Area Management • Aims and Methods • Research Status and Future

3. Introduction • Iceland

4. Introduction • Increase in tourism in Iceland • Importance of tourism in Iceland • 23,5% export revenue (2012) • 6% GDP (2010) Icelandic Tourism Board. (2013)

5. Introduction • Increase in protected areas (PAs) Ministry for the Environment. (2009) Derived from WDPA, 2012

6. Introduction • Growing physical impact over time • Recently especially for tourism • Loss of wilderness factor • Threat to the future prosperity of nature based tourism in Iceland Taylor, V. F. (2011) Ólafsdóttir, R., & Runnström, M. C. (2011)

7. Previous Studies • Conflict management at protected areas (MS thesis) • Assessment of stakeholders around VNP • Survey on Conflicts in the area • Current situation of management ISBN: 978-3-8465-5963-5

8. Previous Studies

9. Previous Studies • Conflict management at protected areas (MS thesis) • Assessment of stakeholders around VNP • Survey on Conflicts in the area • Current situation of management • Results: • Complex management situation • Many stakeholders affected,but few involved • Future management approach is unclear ISBN: 978-3-8465-5963-5

10. Previous Studies • Foundation of project was a literature study: • What has been the development of protected area management over the last 20 years • How does “theory” and “reality” meet?

11. Previous Studies modified from Swarbrooke, 1999; Fennell, 2003; Achana & O'Learly, 2000in: Schaller, H., Ólafsdóttir, R., & Sigurgeirsdóttir, S. (2013)

12. Previous Studies • Foundation of project was a literature study: • What has been the development of protected area management over the last 20 years • How does “theory” and “reality” meet? • Results: • Change of management approach • PA management does not meet policies • Problem of coping with complexity • Hierarchical approach vs. Governance

13. Background of this Research • Major components of the governance of sustainable tourism in PA and their relation

14. Background of this Research • Focus on Actors rather than Stakeholders Derived from Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997) Considine, M., Lewis, J. M., & Alexander, D. (2009)

15. Aims and Methods • Increase the knowledge and understanding of management challenges towards sustainable tourism in ecological vulnerable protected areas • We assess and analyze the dynamic interrelation existing in tourism actors’ networks • Analyze the different actors’ role in the management of sustainable tourism in PAs

16. Aims and Methods • Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as the foundation for the assessment in sustainable tourism and PA mgt. • Governance approach over management approach • Desired outcome • Identification and mapping of all actors • Description of the information flow between actors • Actors network formed by accountability, information, interrelations and conflicts • Actor’s strengths and weaknesses

17. Aims and Methods • Methods • Semi structured interviews in the initial phase • Online survey in the secondary phase • Network analysis

18. Research Status and Future • Research phases

19. Questions?

20. References Achana, F. T., & O'Learly, J. T. (2000). The Transboundary Relationship between National Parks and Adjacent Communities. In G. E. Machlis & D. R. Field (Eds.), National Parks and Rural Development: Practice and Policy in the United States (pp. 67-87). Washington, D.C.: Island Press. Considine, M., Lewis, J. M., & Alexander, D. (2009). Networks, innovation and public policy: politicians, bureaucrats and the pathways to change inside goverment. Victoria, Australia: Palgrave Macmillan. Fennell, D. A. (2003). Natural resources, conservation and protected areas Ecotourism: An introduction - Second Edition (pp. 39-60). London: Routledge. Icelandic Tourism Board. (2013). Tourism in Iceland in Figures: Ferðamálastofa [Icelandic Tourism Board]. Ministry for the Environment. (2009). Umhverfi og Auðlindir [Environment and Natural Resources]. Mitchell, R. K., Agle, B. R., & Wood, D. J. (1997). Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and salience: Defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management Review, 22(4), 853-886. Ólafsdóttir, R., & Runnström, M. C. (2011). How Wild is Iceland? Wilderness Quality with Respect to Nature-based Tourism. Tourism Geographies, 13(1), 91-109. Schaller, H., Ólafsdóttir, R., & Sigurgeirsdóttir, S. (2013). Governance in Protected Area Management: Global Trends in Policy and the Reality at the Vatnajökull National Park. Tourism Management Perspectives (Submitted). Swarbrooke, J. (1999). Sustainable Tourism Management. Wallingford: CABI Publishing. Taylor, V. F. (2011). GIS assessment of Icelandic wilderness from 1936-2010. Magister Scientiarum Unpublished Thesis, University of Iceland, Reykjavik. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1946/9876 van der Duim, R., Ren, C., & Jóhannesson, G. T. (2013). Ordering, materiality and multiplicity: Enacting ANT in Tourism. Tourist Studies. doi: 10.1177/1468797613476397 WDPA. (2012). Homepage of World Database on Protected Areas Retrieved November 18th, 2012, from http://www.wdpa.org/Statistics.aspx