Klas Sandell

Educational potentials of encounters with nature: reflections from a Swedish outdoor perspective

Direct encounters with the natural environment have a long tradition in environmental education. Given that the role and character of these encounters are shaped by the approach taken to environmental or sustainability education, there is a risk that a shift towards pluralistic and political approaches will lead to a neglect of nature encounters. On the basis of an analysis of Swedish/Scandinavian outdoor and environmental history and current Swedish outdoor education practice, we suggest six potentials of encounters with nature: (1) an experience‐based meaning of nature; (2) a relational ethical perspective; (3) the addition of a fourth perspective to sustainable development; (4) human ecology in practice; (5) sensing the quality of a simple life; and (6) democracy, identity and dwelling. We argue that these potentials widen the scope of environmental and sustainability education, while highlighting the need for a situated, dynamic and process‐oriented concept of nature, rather than a static one in which nature is understood as a particular place or specific organisms.

The Right of Public Access : Opportunity or Obstacle for Nature Tourism in Sweden?

Abstract Access to countryside areas – by means of personal ownership, designated areas or free access – is fundamental to outdoor recreation and nature tourism. This paper examines the role of the Right of Public Access for public participation in outdoor recreation and nature tourism supply in Sweden. This right can be seen both as a “free space” for recreation and a way of restricting land ownership. Our study shows that the Right of Public Access has strong support among the Swedish public in general and that designated areas for recreation are less important than public access for outdoor recreation participation. Among nature tourism entrepreneurs, the Right of Public Access is considered a success factor to a much higher extent than an obstacle. We identify a tension between the general public and nature tourism entrepreneurs with respect to traditional backcountry activities such as hiking, cross‐country skiing and nature studies. One important challenge for the future will be to balance the demand for outdoor recreation with nature tourism opportunities for local economic development, and the paper concludes with a set of topics suggested for further discussion concerning the Right of Public Access in a dynamic world.

Access, Tourism and Democracy: A Conceptual Framework and the Non‐establishment of a Proposed National Park in Sweden

Tourism, conservation, national parks and the interrelationship with regional development are important aspects of the high mountain region in the North of Sweden. Here, during the latter part of the 1980s there was a debate concerning the possibility of establishing a large national park in the area around Lake Torneträsk. Even though various interested parties were represented in the working group, there was such a clash of interests that the plan was shelved for an indefinite period. The main obstacle was the resistance from local groups, principally in the township of Kiruna close by, who were afraid that their use of the area would be curtailed due to restrictions on such outdoor activities as fishing, hunting and the use of snowmobiles. This case is analysed in a conceptual framework of different “ecostrategies” for attitudes and behaviour with regard to landscape and the man‐nature interrelationship. The framework is constituted as a four‐field figure with the help of one axis illustrating the tension between “functional specialization” vs. “territorial adaptation” as point of departure for landscape perspectives. The other axis illustrates the tension between the strategies of “active” use vs. “passive” contemplation of the landscape.

Tourism and protected areas: motives, actors and processes

Following the paradigm shift in nature conservation policy towards the inclusion of local inhabitants in the planning and management of protected areas, tourism is emphasised as a means to achieve economic development in peripheral areas. Governance issues and the real impacts from tourism on development are thus often under scrutiny. This article focuses on the role of tourism in the political process of designating protected areas. How does the inclusion of the tourism argument affect designation processes? What kind of tourism is being promoted and how can it be conceptualised with regard to human views of the use of nature? An ecostrategic framework is presented to illustrate the essential land-use choices available. Three cases of protected area designation processes are used to address the issue of tourism: the failure of the Kiruna National Park proposal and the successful implementation of the snowmobile regulation area in Funäsdalen and Fulufjället National Park. The analysis shows that while tourism may increase local acceptance of protected areas, the power of this argument also depends on contextual and process factors.

Environmentalism and Tourism Preferences: A Study of Outdoor Recreationists in Sweden

This article explores the linkages between nature-based recreation and preferences of individuals classified as “environmentalists”. Following an overview of the literature, this paper reports on an empirical investigation of the nature-based recreation vs. environmentalism nexus using data from a national Swedish survey. Study findings show that environmentalists (environmentally-oriented individuals) behave differently in terms of their recreation-related preferences when compared to non-environmentalists. Environmentalists prefer outdoor activities with little or no impact on the environment as demonstrated, for example, by their avoidance of extractive (e.g. hunting) and motorized activities (e.g. snowmobiling). Despite these differences, the findings were inconsistent in that while environmentalists avoid some extractive and motorized activities, other similar activities were not avoided. Thus, the results question the use of simplistic recreational classification systems for the understanding of activity preferences and the authors call for more in-depth, qualitative research to further understand the nature-based recreation choices of environmentalists. Study findings also show that environmentally-oriented individuals do not hesitate to travel away from residential areas for participation in nature-based recreation. Therefore, this paper helps us to understand which nature-based activities environmentalists demand and can provide a more informed basis for tourism planning and management.

National Parks and Protected Areas and the Role for Employment in Tourism and Forest Sectors: a Swedish Case

The development of national parks and other protected areas has been widely promoted because of its potential for regional development in peripheral and sparsely populated areas. The argument is that the economic and social benefits seen in national parks in the USA and UK will also occur in the Swedish context in the form of an increased tourism-related labor market. Our aim was to analyze the possibility of such a development both in light of the policy visions of positive regional and local development and from the adversary point of view that protection of land is making it more difficult for 15 sparsely populated mountain municipalities in Sweden to prosper. We used a database covering the entire population of the area for 1991 to 2001. Our results show that factors other than the protected areas are connected to the development of a tourism labor market. The most positively correlated variables for change in tourism employment are population growth and proximity to ski lifts. Positive population development is also correlated to a positive change in the number of people employed in forest sectors. Thus, one of the main outcomes is that the assumed and almost automatic positive relation between nature conservation and tourism can is questionable.

An educational tool for outdoor education and environmental concern

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an outdoor education model that respects the need to critically discuss the general belief in a causal relationship between experiences of nature, environmentally-friendly attitudes and behavioural change, but that at the same time respects the legitimate claims on the part of outdoor education practice for concretisation and clarity. The foundation of this model consists of a combination of theoretical perspectives and models that have been generated through a number of Swedish interdisciplinary research projects concerning human interrelationships with the landscape during the last decade. The paper first focuses on the subtleties of environmental concern with the aid of an environmentally historic model of how care for nature and environmental protection successively developed during the last century. It then addresses different aspects of outdoor education by presenting two specific models: a model of two principally diverse motives for this education, and a model of three different approaches to the landscape when executing outdoor education. In the final section these models are assembled in a suggested model for outdoor education and environmental concern, and identify a handful of main educational paths. The paper concludes with a brief discussion about continued research and examples of what can be regarded as particularly important developments and additions to the suggested model.

Protect, Preserve, Present The Role of Tourism in Swedish National Parks

A ticket to national parks? Tourism, railways and the establishment of national parks in Sweden

Outdoor recreation in exergames: a new step in the detachment from nature?

ABSTRACT A new teaching aid—exergames—is increasing in popularity in schools and is regarded as an interesting, varied and effective way of improving students’ fitness. These exercise television games often contain references to physical activities carried out in different outdoor landscapes. The purpose of this article is to examine the views of landscape and nature offered by the games and the consequences this may have for students’ relationships with nature and future environmental commitment. The methodological approach used is companion meaning analysis: the meaning of nature that follows when playing the games. The results show a controlled landscape that is perfectly arranged for the activity (functional specialisation). It is an obvious anthropocentric base and commands an instrumental value where nature is valuable because it satisfies our felt preferences (demand value). Exergames can thus be seen as a further step in an ongoing detachment process from the physical landscape (indoorisation).

Tourism, Nature and Sustainability

Recently, the Nordic countries have experienced a rapid growth in numbers of visitors. At some popular nature attractions this has resulted in crowding, environmental damage, costly rescue operatio ...