Analysis of attitudes of local communities towards the creation of protected areas on the example of national parks in Austria and Germany

The aim of this study was to present the attitudes of local communities in the process of creating a national park – a precious natural area with a high protection regime. The study takes into account the actions of the authorities and legal regulations concerning, among other things, the possibility of agricultural and economic activities in the park. The considerations were based on the presentation of the cases of the establishment of the National park Donau-Auen in Austria and the National park Schwarzwald in Germany. Among others, official documents, publications, reports, studies, online information (e.g. on websites) and legal acts concerning nature conservation and national parks were analysed. The factor that mobilised communities in the process of establishing the two national parks was the decisions of the public authorities. The Donau-Auen National park is an example of effective community action in defence of nature. Its creation was preceded, among other things, by the ‘Hainburg Aubsetz’ campaign,a community initiative demonstrating the importance of nature conservation in Austria. The creation of the Schwarzwald National park, on the other hand, is an example of the NIMBY (not in my back yard) phenomenon, where the local community accepts nature conservation but opposes it when its rights are curtailed. The dialogue between the authorities and the public has shown in both cases that awareness-raising activities on decisions related to the creation of a protected area are necessary. The approval of local communities in the creation of protected areas is linked to the expectation that these areas will provide social and economic benefits. The creation of a protected area can mean profits for businesses in the area or a worsening of the living situation of landowners excluded from production, indicating a link between nature conservation and living standards and poverty. In the cases discussed, there is no data on the level of poverty and its impact on the attitudes of local communities towards protected areas. It seems important to carry out relevant research in this regard in the future.