Local participation in nature conservation has gained more attention over the last decades due to international conventions as well as local and national initiatives. This development can be seen as a reaction to a more expert oriented nature conservation characterized by centralized control and strict preservation of so called "original" nature. The overall objective of this thesis is to contribute to research on new forms of conservation where democracy and local participation is included. The case study focuses on the process of producing a pre-study for a suggested national park in southern Jämtland in the Swedish mountain region, and aims to investigate to what extent local participation was included. The pre-study was led by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the County Administrative Board (CAB) in Jämtland. The thesis is to some extent grounded in a political ecological perspective, which highlights connections between politics, societies and the environment. The methods used are semi-structured in-depth interviews and literature studies. The results show that although the stakeholders interviewed to some extent share views on the process, there are also differences. The SEPA and the CAB are generally satisfied with the result while there is some dissatisfaction among others. However, all stress that respect and dialogue are important and most actors see zoning and channeling within a potential park as part of a solution to past conflicts in the area. How the management structure will take form and to which extent it will include local participation has not been discussed in detail so far, although the Sámi demand to be included in any future management. These questions will be further investigated by the SPEA if they decide to proceed in a national park process. / Bortom konflikter: utmaningar och möjligheter i svenska fjäll

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