Ecostrategies : Presentation and Elaboration of a Conceptual Framework of Landscape Perspectives

The conceptual framework of ecostrategies (views and use of landscape) presented here have been used to analyse various cases of nature-based tourism and related activities such as outdoor recreation, outdoor education, nature reserves and conservation. The role of the ecostrategies is to illustrate the intersections, conflicts and alliances between different types of nature based tourism and relations to other rural activities. The framework consists of four main ecostrategies, which are identified from the tension between "functional specialization" vs. "territorial adaptation" and the tension between the ideals of "utilization" vs. "appreciation". The four ecostrategies are the landscape seen as: (i) a museum for external consumption, (ii) a factory for producing activities and products, (iii) a dedicated place to be utilized and (iv) a dedicated place to be contemplated. These ecostrategies are linked to various consequences in terms of democracy, environmental issues, views of nature, local development, planning, pedagogy, identity and conflicts. The framework has proved fruitful in discussions about landscape futures, as illustrated by the case studies on nature based tourism, outdoor recreation and nature reserves presented in the article. Some of the framework's shortcomings are here presented, together with suggestions for further development, such as quantitative survey investigations and using a three-dimensional version to illustrate previously hidden tensions