Sweden’s 30 national parks have special protection because of their valuable natural and cultural heritage. Researchers Emelie Fälton and Johan Hedrén from Linköping University have studied the image of the Swedish national parks conveyed by the visitor information. The study has been published in the Journal of Northern Studies.
“The result shows that the nature in the parks is presented as an opposite to society – and especially to humanity. This creates a distance between us and nature, as if we are not part of it, which is problematic. Conservation and national parks are good things, but what notions do we charge these places with, and what consequences does this have for how we view ourselves and the world we call nature?” says Emelie Fälton, doctoral student at the Department of Thematic Studies, and first author of the article.
The researchers studied visitor information for Swedish national parks. The information, produced between 2008 and 2018, consisted of books and web pages from tourism organisations such as Visit Sweden and the Swedish Tourist Association, as well as actors in conservation such as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.