Towards a Human Dimensions Research Agenda for Parks and Protected Areas R.J. Payne & Norm McIntyre School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism Lakehead University Thunder Bay, Ontario

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Overview  Human Dimensions in Parks & Protected Areas  Methods  Four Research Themes  Moving Forward

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions in Parks & Protected Areas Human Dimensions in Parks & Protected Areas  interdisciplinary research into human behaviours in natural environments involving researchers from both the social sciences and the humanities  human dimensions of wildlife, fisheries and climate change  builds understandings of people’s behaviours in relation to environmental management and provides knowledge for environmental managers and policy makers  human dimensions research also connects to universal concepts such as fairness, justice, risk, and sustainability

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Methods  Delphi technique  30 participants from academia and parks agencies  3 rounds to achieve agreement

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Themes 1. Understanding and Managing Human Use of PPAs  Understanding human use  Population change and the use of PPAs  Perspectives of the public, politicians and parks agency employees about PPAs  Deepening the understanding of human use through qualitative methods of research  Managing human use  Carrying capacity tools  Determining “appropriate” use  Servicing recreation and tourism in PPAs

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Themes 2. PPAs in Regional Context  Collaborative management  Co-management institutions  Roles of ENGOs and local communities  Regional socio-economic linkages  Links between social and ecological systems  Trans-boundary issues  Values and benefits of PPAs  Aboriginal people and PPAs  Cooperative strategies  Policy and aboriginals

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Themes 3. Management Effectiveness for PPAs  PPA messages  Evaluation of PPA messages locally, regionally and nationally  Roles of heritage interpretation in PPAs  PPA management practices  Zoning  Calculating economic impacts  Adaptive management and visitor management  Knowledge management in PPAs  Where do managers get information?  Knowledge sharing  Data warehousing

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Themes 4. Institutional Arrangements for PPAs  Developing and applying PPA policy  Roles of science in park policy  Decision making and conflict resolution  Forms of public participation over time  New forms of PPAs  Co-existence of public and private forms of protection  Roles of Nature Conservancy of Canada, private reserves  Historical development and implementation of the biosphere reserve idea in Canada

Human Dimensions Research Human Dimensions Research Moving Forward  Understanding the changing Canadian population  Funding human dimensions research in PPAs  Sharing human dimensions data, information and knowledge  Training human dimensions researchers