The forest for leisure activities and tourism: a yearning for nature or sustainable development? (essay)
2009
Forster, S., Zuercher Hoschschule fuer Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW), Wergenstein (Switzerland). Fachstelle Tourismus und Nachhaltige Entwicklung
As a background for recreation, the forest is gaining in importance _ in particular in tourist resorts and in built-up areas. In our leisure time and during our holidays we increasingly flee from our hectic and nondescript everyday life to seek peace and relaxation in distinctive landscapes. Many people perceive the forest as synonymous with nature. The forest is a secret place full of ancient mysteries, which today still accompany and fascinate visitors. This transmuted view of the forest is an excellent example of people's estrangement from the natural world. The truth is that the forest is an «artificial» place, formed by man. The spirit of the epoch, ecological opinions, economical and political constraints put their stamp on the shape of the forest landscape and correspondingly on its management. This discrepancy leads to conflict between visitors and forest managers and leaves the concept of sustainable development wrecked on the grounds of mutual misunderstandings. A closer discussion between forestry specialists on the one hand, and those seeking relaxation or offering leisure and tourist activities on the other, is absolutely necessary. In particular the tourist industry, which uses and commercializes the forest landscape as idyllic scenery, should take on more responsibility for the implementation of a sustainable development.
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