Conflict Strategies as a Task for the Management of Protected Areas - Shown at the National Park Donau-Auen

The establishment and management of a protected area can rarely be put into practice without conflicts. As early as in the planning phase, conflicts with individual user groups, owners, residents, communities and regional businesses become apparent. Protected area management is confronted with a number of conflicts concerning interests, targets and spatial use, which interact with each other, last for a long period of time, and can create complex conflict situations. The targeted and farsighted handling of conflicts is a basic task of protected area managements. This includes taking an active position in conflict processes, as well as avoiding unnecessary confrontations, and canalising conflicts with the aim of fulfilling the duties and goals of a protected area. In this case, conflict strategy means taking a complex approach to a complex problem. This conflict strategy should focus on a complex regional view of conflict, including potential conflicts and their effects on planning and management and, at the same time, making it possible to act flexibly in conflict situations.