Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1
ensuring rational development of resources
on a sustainable basis,
land for recreational pursuits continues to be a
contentious issue in many countries, but especially
in England and Wales (Countryside Commission
1988), where 'legal systems give enormous weight
to private property rights in contrast to the very
limited access they give to individuals' (Gilg
1996:191). At the opposite extreme is Sweden,
where there is legal right of access to all land,
whether publicly or privately owned, and Norway,
where the same situation applies subject to certain
conditions laid down in legislation. In many
countries, legal restrictions have placed significant
constraints on access to rivers for fishing, and to
land for field sports as well as casual rambling.
These constraints can apply even in national parks
(Watkins 1996) and despite the existence of
statutory provisions (Curry 1994).
Growing demands for access have provoked
unfavourable reactions from landowners as well as
litigation and legislative responses. As a result, ease
of access for the general public in certain areas has
been reduced (Groome andTarrant 1985). Related
to this trend have been changing attitudes to some
traditional rural pursuits, notably hunting. Both
with hunting in North America using guns and
fox hunting in Britain using hounds, protests by
animal rights groups and changing public
sentiments have closed off certain lands to hunters
or imposed legal restraints. Elsewhere, sheer
pressure of numbers of recreationists is causing
attempts by landowners to restrict or control
access to their land. However, although much has
been written about the problems of restricted
access in individual countries, there has been only
limited work on comparative studies (Jenkins and
Prin 1998).
In England, certain groups have gained
preferential access to the countryside via both
public and private provision of resources. In the
private sector, the controls exerted by landowners
have meant that rights of access have frequently
been granted to small specialist groups, e.g.
shooting rights, fishermen purchasing special
licences. Harrison (1991) foresees a bigger role
for public sector provision of recreational
facilities but acknowledges the difficulty in
constructing a publicly acceptable policy
2
providing equitable development between
different activities and groups within society;
3
reconciling consumption and production.
The remainder of this chapter considers examples
of how geographers have contributed to the
analysis of key issues in the management of rural
recreation. Three issues are singled out for special
attention: access and land zoning,
commodification of the countryside and
management via advertising, and reconciling
competing land uses within national parks.
CASE STUDIES
Access to land for recreational use
Harrison's (1991) analysis of the UK's town and
country planning system and the national parks
system concluded that by the late 1960s it had
failed both to protect the countryside from
destructive forces and to provide sufficient access
to meet the demands of recreationists.
Recognition of these deficiencies then led policy
makers to three principal policy responses (Curry
1985):
1
to improve site access, as best illustrated in the
country parks, 40 per cent of which are in the
urban fringe;
2
to provide small amounts of targeted funding
to ease conflicts between conservation and
recreation, e.g. upgrading footpaths,
improving signage;
3
to continue to restrict wider access.
The last point reinforces the fact that the growing
demand for rural recreation has not been matched
in most developed countries by a similar increase
in the supply of publicly accessible lands or route-
ways within the countryside (Millward 1993).
Indeed, some loss of access has occurred through
urbanisation, forestry development and the spread
of modern farming methods. The question of the
rights of the general public to have access to rural
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