Conflicts between forestry and nature protection – case studies of two Nature Parks in Croatia

Background and Purpose: The forest related conflicts has not been very often used as a research topic in Croatia. This paper presents results from two case studies conducted in Nature Parks »Kopački rit« and »Velebit«. The aim of the study was to explore conflicts between forestry and nature protection on management level. The main research questions were raised: (a) What causes conflicts?; (b)What are the attitudes of conflict actors towards conflicts as a phenomenon and towards other conflict parties?; (c) What was undertaken to manage conflicts and was it successful? and (d) How the conflicts and CM influence forest policy development process? Material and Methods: Data was collected by conducting in-depth resulting in 27 interviews in total. The interviewees were managers in CF, NPs and representatives of NGOs active in the respective areas. Theoretical framework was combination of Progressive Triangle with three main aspects of conflicts: substance, relation and procedure (3) embedded in structure of four main elements: culture, conflicts, conflicts management and policy development (10). Results and Conclusion: Primary parties in conflicts are NPs and CF. Interviewees named mostly problemswith legislation, performance of forest management activities within protected areas and lack of proper communication as possible conflict causes. Main conclusion is that differing attitudes towards forestry and nature protection as well as education as elements of cultural background probably influence conflict occurrence, CM and policy development. There is no sound CM strategy or significant policy development