Understanding Social Conflicts on Velebit Mountain

The last couple of decades brought great changes to the world's society when it comes to environmental issues and utilization of natural resources which grow scarcer every day. Rising environmental awareness, dynamic changes in land use and rapidly growing importance of protection of the environment are strongly opposed to some aspects of traditional forestry common in the region, which results in the emergence of various conflicts among the parties involved. The case for the study of these conflicts is Velebit Mountain, a nature park that combines nature protection activities with traditional forestry. The most important stakeholders include: foresters, nature protectionists, hunters, mountaineers, tourists, local population, local government, private forest owners, private entrepreneurs and many others, who are all pursuing their interests. This work comprises qualitative research of attitudes, relations, jurisdictions, cultural background and all other relevant elements which form conflict situations.