Who Is For or Against the Park? Factors Influencing the Public's Perception of a Regional Park: A Slovenian Case Study

To effectively organize cooperation with stakeholders in the planning and management of protected areas, it is important to understand their perception of the protected area and the factors influencing that perception. This study identifies the factors and their impact on locals' perceptions of the Kamnisko-Savinjske Alps Regional Park in designation, Slovenia. The results of discriminant analysis show that the local population that supports the park has significantly different views of its potential from the population that opposes it. In addition, the local population that supports the park was personally notified by the founders about the plans, while the opposing population was not. Therefore, the former is more trustful of the founders' procedures and there is more cooperation with all interest groups than with the opposing population. Contrary to our expectations, higher education, place of residence, and gender do not affect the population's support for the park. These results confirm that a consideration of the factors that affect the local population's perception of the protected area contributes to more effective involvement of stakeholders in the process of park creation, which is important for the successful management of protected areas.