Access to Nature through Tourism : A Study of Four Perspectives on Inclusive Nature-based Tourism

Sammanfattning: Nature experiences and participation in nature-based activities are increasingly recognised as beneficial to public and individual health, yet in most societies, the ability for people to take advantage of opportunities to acquire these benefits is unequal. Social constructs such as gender and disability, as well as levels of income and education, influence to what extent individuals can engage with nature, and there is growing concern over the increased disconnectedness from nature in urbanised societies. Nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation is argued to have an important role to play in rekindling this relationship between humans and the natural environment. Based on this, there is a real need to examine people’s access to nature through nature-based tourism. This thesis studies access to nature through the four perspectives of infrastructure, conflicts of interests, exclusion and collaboration, in order to broaden the scope of how nature-based tourism can support equal opportunities to nature experiences. The included papers employ mixed-methods research from three case study areas in Sweden, with a particular focus on the southern Jämtland mountains. The four perspectives that constitute the framework of this thesis are expressed in each of the papers. Paper I reviews research on infrastructure for touristic purposes, and lays the foundation for paper II, where I examine the role of recreational trails in handling issues of collaboration and conflicts of interests in a mountain area affected by land-use conflicts. Paper III investigates exclusion from outdoor recreation activities from a gender perspective, and paper IV researches how accessible infrastructure, intended for people with disabilities to access protected areas, can give rise to conflicts between the competing interests of nature conservation and accessibility. Together, the findings in these papers suggest that although equal access to nature is desirable, there is a need to problematize the many layers of the concept. Improved access for one group can reduce access for another, and facilitated access to natural areas can cause problems of crowding and environmental degradation. This paradox requires further highlighting. Moreover, I argue that the call for a reconnection with nature to foster environmental responsibility, and to counteract declining public health in societies is exclusive, as constructs of gender and disability give unequal prerequisites to nature engagement. Despite this, access to nature is a democratic right, so although there is a need to recognise the complexity of access, I advocate for collaborative efforts to enhance access to nature for marginalised groups, and to consider aspects of access in land-use conflict management.