Page 92 - A bird’s-eye view of recreation - Rogier Pouwels

A bird's-eye view of recreation
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Figure 4. Map of the disturbance zones of visitors overlain on the habitat map of wader species, overlain on an aerial photograph. The easternmost parking lot is shown in red (‘P’). Based on local maps consisting of vegetation structure and slope, the habitat was classified as optimal, suboptimal, and marginal. In optimal habitat wader species can reach high densities and in marginal habitat low densities.
5.4 Discussion
The participatory modeling in the PROGRESS project contributed to conflict resolution in a system with many uncertainties by combining elements of adaptive management and boundary management. We went through a collaborative learning process in which scientists and interest groups developed a common understanding of the local biodiversity–recreation system by combining generic scientific knowledge with specific knowledge of the local context. This resulted in an agreement about the problem that had to be solved and the solution that was most appropriate in the local situation. In this process the models played a key role as a means to learn and communicate the underlying mechanisms in the biodiversity–recreation relationship, which formed the basis for identifying the problem and designing the solution. As such, we applied the mix of objectives suggested by Voinov and Bousquet (2010), Souchère et al. (2010) and Simon and Etienne (2010). Previously, Pröbstl et al. (2008), Marceau (2008), and
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