Commodification and Conflict: What Can the Irish Approach to Protected Area Management Tell Us?

Abstract

Parks and protected areas are often seen as human products of nature that have been demarcated, interpreted, and “museumized” for the purpose of visitors and society. In contemporary Ireland, a critical management issue surrounding the extent, appropriate form, and scale of visitor facilities has caused some of the most acrimonious environmental disputes in its history. Visitor center developments in the Burren National Park and the Cliffs of Moher, in the West of Ireland, highlight a number of controversies concerning the commodification of landscapes, homogenization of nature, community involvement, and the extent to which monetary concerns are main driving forces. Drawing on the narrative of these cases this article argues for adopting a consultative approach and involving all stakeholders, particularly the local community, when planning, designing, and operating visitor centers.

Keywords:

• commodification
• fragile landscapes
• planning and impacts
• tourism
• visitor centers

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Environmental RTDI Programme 2000–2006, administered on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Local Government by the Environmental Protection Agency. We also thank Professor Sally K. Fairfax and Dr. Larry Ruth (University of California, Berkeley) for comments on an earlier draft and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful insights.

Notes

Usually contains additional facilities such as a shop, catering, toilets, and car parking.

A tourist “honeypot” is a major tourist attraction that attracts large visitor numbers and where concentrated tourist development occurs.

Ireland national parks exist to conserve natural plant and animal communities and scenic landscapes that are both extensive and of national importance and, under conditions compatible with that purpose, to enable the public to visit and appreciate them (Craig 2001).

Initially, the government body responsible for the management of the Irish national parks was the Office of Public Works (OPW). In the mid 1990s that responsibility was delegated to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (O'Rourke 2005).

The cliffs typically range from 150 to 214 meters in height (McIlveen 2002).

As observed by authors who attended public meetings.