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C. MICHAEL HALL
Department of Tourism, School of Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin,
New Zealand
Introduction
Ecotourism policy may be defined as whatever governments choose to do or
not to do with respect to ecotourism (Hall, 2004). This definition of public
policy covers government action, inaction, decisions and non-decisions, as it
implies a deliberate choice between alternatives (Hall and Jenkins, 2004).
However, such a simple definition masks the complexity of ecotourism policy
and planning, particularly in the Scandinavian context. Understanding
ecotourism policy and planning is inherently difficult in part because, even
on a global basis, there are very few specific agencies that are solely
dedicated to ecotourism, although there tend to be various governmental
bodies that have interests in ecotourism. Such a situation means that
ecotourism policy making cannot be readily identified with single agencies
and is, instead, diffused through the policy-making system. Arguably,
ecotourism becomes even more complex a policy concept because of the
difficulties that exist in arriving at a readily agreed upon definition of what it
actually means.
The issue of definition that has plagued attempts to define ecotourism,
as well as tourism in a more general policy setting, is not merely an
academic argument because how can you set policy for something if you
cannot define it, or at least arrive at agreed-upon definitions that key policy
actors may agree with (Hall and Jenkins, 2004)? It is therefore with this
substantial policy problematic that this chapter sets out to chart some of the
key elements in ecotourism policy and planning in Scandinavia. The chapter
is structured around three main sections:
1. A description of ecotourism as a policy field.
2. The institutional arrangements that surround ecotourism.
3. The role of governance in ecotourism planning and management.
CAB International 2006. Ecotourism in Scandinavia: Lessons in Theory and Practice
(eds S. Gssling and J. Hultman)
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Tourism
Environment
Nature
conservation
General economic
and investment
policies
Labour regulation
Regional
development
Forestry, fisheries
and agriculture
Transport
land, national parks have long been recognized as having a significant role to
play as ecotourism resources. Nevertheless, the policies that influence
national park aims, functions and management are determined by much
more than ecotourism considerations. For example, Metshallitus, the
Finnish Forest and Park Service, reports that the role of the Finnish network
of protected areas can be defined as:
Finlands protected areas form a varied network intended to preserve for present
and future generations a suitable number of representatives and ecologically
viable areas of all the ecosystems and natural habitat types occurring in Finland,
taking into account geographical variations and the various stages of natural
succession. Protected areas also have a very significant role in achieving and
maintaining the favourable conservation status of habitat types and species.
(Metshallitus, 2000, p. 6)
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However, they also noted that the companys focus on hunting, fishing
and natural experiences is conducted on commercial terms (2005, p. 34),
and in a manner that they argue complements access to the forest offered
by the right of public access (2005, p. 36). Such an approach, which is not
uncommon in Scandinavian policy documents, appears to suggest that
ecotourism or nature-based tourism is seen as a commercial activity that is
commercially based, i.e. through operators and guides, rather than as
individual-based, i.e. the general public accessing forests and other
landscapes and engaging in ecotourism-related activities as individuals
through their utilization of rights under common law (Allemansrtt). Such a
situation may also mean that ecotourism-related policies and strategies may
therefore be commercially based and thus faced with substantial difficulties
in terms of operation and innovation, in terms of being able to package
products and recreation opportunities that may also be available noncommercially.
However, such a situation with respect to the relationship between
Allemansrtt and tourism also highlights the need for the development of a
better understanding of the manner by which policies are developed to cover
the mobilities and impacts of travellers in the 21st century rather than those
of the Middle Ages. Indeed, while the existence of Allemansrtt may arguably
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Institutional Arrangements
Policy making is filtered through a complex institutional framework
(Brooks, 1993, p. 79). However, institutional arrangements have received
relatively little attention in the tourism literature (Hall, 2003; Hall and
Jenkins, 2004). Institutions are an established law, custom, usage, practice,
organisation, or other element in the political or social life of a people; a
regulative principle or convention subservient to the needs of an organized
community or the general needs of civilization (Scrutton, 1982, p. 225).
Institutions may be thought of as a set of rules, which may be explicit and
formalized (e.g. constitutions, statutes and regulations) or implicit and
informal (e.g. organizational culture, rules governing personal networks and
family relationships). Thus, institutions are an entity devised to order
interrelationships between individuals or groups of individuals by
influencing their behaviour (Hall, 2003).
Within the context of environmental and resource management the
importance of studying the significance of institutions has long been
recognized. For example, ORiordan (1971, p. 135) observed that:
One of the least touched upon, but possibly one of the most fundamental,
research needs in resource management [and tourism management] is the
analysis of how institutional arrangements are formed, and how they evolve in
response to changing needs and the existence of internal and external stress.
There is growing evidence to suggest that the form, structure and operational
guidelines by which resource management institutions are formed and evolve
clearly affect the implementation of resource policy, both as to the range of
choice adopted and the decision attitudes of the personnel involved.
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Table 17.1. Multiple scales of institutional arrangements for ecotourism policy and planning
in the Nordic countries.
Scale
Examples
International
Supranational
National
Subnational
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Natural habitats must be large enough, important structures and functions must
exist, and there must be viable populations of species typical of the habitat. With
respect to species there must be a sufficient number of individuals within the
area, reproduction must take place and the species habitat must be large
enough.
(Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, 2003, p. 6)
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mechanism for policy coordination and advice rather than an authority with
binding regulatory authority. Therefore, the policy directions of the Nordic
Council provide a context only for ecotourism development in the
Scandinavian region. This is not to say that the activities of the Nordic
Council are without value. Indeed, work with regard to environmental
cooperation (Nordic Council of Ministers, 2004) and visitor management
strategies (Erkkonen and Storrank, 2005) may well have some beneficial
affects for ecotourism and tourism in general should the results of such
work be effectively transferred to relevant stakeholders.
The examples provided in this section provide only a brief account of
institutional involvement in ecotourism. It has concentrated primarily on the
implications of supranational organizations such as the Nordic Council and
the European Union and the consequent significance of ecotourism at the
levels of the nation state and local government. However, the capacity of
policy at one level of authority to impact that at another is seen to be
variable, no matter what the inherent qualities of the policy are. The large
number of institutional actors in ecotourism in the Nordic countries can be
seen to be providing an extremely complex policy environment, the
outcomes of which are plagued with uncertainty. The final section therefore
utilizes the concept of governance as a means of explaining potential future
directions for ecotourism policy in the region.
Governance
The impacts of globalization and the neo-liberal political project have
arguably led to a situation in which there is a multilayered governance
architecture consisting not only of the national state, but also the local state,
supranational bodies, non-government organizations and the private sector.
Kooiman (1993a, p. 6) argues that governance has become an interorganizational phenomenon, and that it is best understood through terms
such as co-managing, co-steering and co-guidance, all implying more
cooperative methods for identifying and achieving policy goals.
Kooiman (1993b, p. 258) defines governance as: The pattern or
structure that emerges in a socio-political system as a common result or
outcome of the interacting intervention efforts of all involved actors. This
pattern cannot be reduced to one actor or group of actors in particular.
Similarly, Morales-Moreno (2004, p. 1089) noted that: We could define
governance as the capacity for steering, shaping, and managing, yet leading
the impact of transnational flows and relations in a given issue area, through
the inter-connectedness of different polities and their institutions in which
power, authority, and legitimacy are shared.
The notion of governance as the steering of policy in transnational space
is one that has substantial bearing on ecotourism-related policies in
Scandinavia, given the multiplicity of policy levels and institutions. Such a
multiplicity clearly has potential for policy chaos, given the possibilities of
different organizations with different values and agendas seeking to push
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Perhaps, not surprisingly, the supposed road map has proved not to have
guided the direction of tourism in the region at all (see also the earlier
report on Towards A Sustainable Nordic Tourism (Nordic Council of Ministers
Tourism Ad Hoc Working Group, 2001)), with the logical question perhaps
being, why bother? Apart from the cynical answer that it provides consultants
with employment, an additional response is that such documents and
exercises can be used by policy makers to indicate that they are interested in
a policy issue and are doing something, even though the impact of what
they are doing may have little or no immediate impact on the ground in
terms of what tourist firms or tourists actually do.
However, in the longer term the amalgamated weight of such material
may serve to steer policy in certain directions, although in the case of
ecotourism this is likely to include only very minor regulation of ecotourism
firms or ecotourists, if at all. While perhaps, more seriously, the effects of
ecotourism and tourism overall have, up to now, been discussed only with
reference to the destination, and not in relation to the overall travel of any
ecotourist.
In terms of ecotourism policy and planning, this author therefore
remains rather sanguine about its prospects in Scandinavia. Foremost, there
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is little ecotourism policy per se and it is not immediately likely that an agreedupon set of ecotourism policies for the region will be forthcoming. However,
there is a substantial range of policies in existence that affects ecotourism. In
relation to issues such as biodiversity and nature conservation, these
resource-based policies are often well considered and have included multiple
stakeholders. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the development of
tourism policy in the region, which tends to be highly fragmented in terms
of a failure to connect diverse institutions and stakeholders, is lacking in
strategic direction and is often trying to achieve multiple and sometimes
conflicting tasks, particularly with respect to achieving both growth and
environmental conservation.
Policy success, in terms of implementing policy goals, where it does
occur, tends to be at the local level in the region, where diverse stakeholders
can be brought together and institutional participants have greater authority
to act. However, the potential of many such policy successes seems relatively
short-term, as they often depend on external funding in terms of transfers of
capital from supranational and national bodies. Nevertheless, some of these
developments do manage to last several years. The reasons for such success
usually relate to the development of cooperative structures between
stakeholders and the mutual development of both policy and actions that
will implement policy. Unfortunately, these lessons have often not been
learned at the supranational level.
References
Brooks, S. (1993) Public Policy in Canada. McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, Canada.
Christ, C., Hillel, O., Matus, S. and Sweeting, J. (2003) Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping
Tourisms Global Footprint. Conservation International, Washington, DC.
Clement, K., Bradley, K. and Hansen, M. (2004) Environment and Sustainable Development
Integration in the Nordic Structural Funds: an Appraisal of Programming Documents. Nordregio,
Stockholm.
Erkkonen, B. and Storrank, B. (2005) Nordic and Baltic Workshop on Visitor Information Needs and
Monitoring Methods (NBW), Final Report, Nordic Council of Ministers, Copenhagen.
Hall, C.M. (2003) Institutional arrangements for ecotourism policy. In: Fennell, D. and
Dowling, R. (eds) Ecotourism: Policy and Strategy Issues. CAB International, Wallingford, UK,
pp. 2138.
Hall, C.M. (2004) Ecotourism policy. In: Diamantis, D. (ed.) Ecotourism: Management and
Assessment. Thomson, London, pp.135150.
Hall, C.M. (2006) Tourism, biodiversity and global environmental change. In: Gssling, S. and
Hall, C.M. (eds) Tourism and Global Environmental Change: Ecological, Economic, Social and
Political Interrelationships. Routledge, London, pp. 211226.
Hall, C.M. and Jenkins, J.M. (2004) Tourism and Public Policy. In: Lew, A., Hall, C.M. and
Williams, A.M. (eds) Companion to Tourism. Blackwells, Oxford, UK, pp. 525540.
Hogwood, B. and Gunn, L. (1984) Policy Analysis for the Real World. Oxford University Press,
Oxford, UK.
Kooiman, J. (ed.) (1993a) Modern Governance: New GovernmentSociety Interactions. Sage,
London.
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