Governance e partecipazione nelle aree naturali protette italiane: questioni teoriche e pratiche

The paper explores, at a theoretical and practical level, the issue of governance and participation in the management of protected natural areas. The concept of governance constitutes, at least at the theoretical level, a situation in which the formulation and implementation of public policies involves a plurality of different subjects, at different levels, which interact strongly with each other. It also prefigures complex and fluid relational dynamics, especially in areas with a strong tourist vocation such as protected natural areas. Therefore, studying governance means “covering a wide range of topics ranging from politics to practice, through behavior and meaning, to investment and impacts” (Giuntarelli, 2008: 122). This is a complex system aiming to valorize democracy in political activity through the participation of a multitude of actors in the management and promotion of its activities. This vision is pursued through the three typical dimensions of sustainable development: ecological, economic and cultural. This ideal cannot be pursued through the application of regulations, constraints and measures that encourage virtuous actions by discouraging harmful ones which are emanated from the central power and that are typical of environmental policies. However, a more effective approach is pursuing this through the participatory construction of a common vision; in which more and more actors share these goals in a temporal logic that is not based on the mere immediate need. The last paragraph of this contribution, of a more practical nature, is dedicated to a reflection on how to study the governance of protected natural areas through a sociological look. The main stages for carrying out social research with a particular in-depth study of some useful techniques for the collection of information will be presented.