Dealing with conflicts between conservation and socioeconomic activities. A social perception study in the Costa Brava, Spain.

¹ Department of Transport Infrastructure and Territory, Technical University of Catalonia
Elisabet.roca@upc.edu
² Geography Department, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
efernandez@becarios.ulpgc.es

Abstract

The conflicts between different users are frequent in the cases when conservation plans affect agricultural land uses. The main objective of this paper is to explore public perceptions to plans to protect natural areas. This research has been carried out in the designated area of Aiguamolls de l’Empordà, in the heart of Costa Brava, Spain where a proposal to extend the perimeter of the protected area has created a local but severe social conflict. A social perception study based on a qualitative survey with local stakeholders has been carried out to collect the local opinion on the issue and the perception with regard to the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of planning strategy.

Essentially, the intervention is felt to be a threat to the future of several socioeconomic activities (i.e. agriculture, campsites). Moreover, mistrust of the public administration has produced the emergence of an old conflict. The authors argue that the assessment of problems and conflicts affecting coasts have lacked from an in-depth understanding of the social dimension. Therefore, analysing perceptions and attitudes to strategies and management practices can produce relevant information to improve the management of these areas.