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FrancoAngeli Journals

Papers

No. 2 (2021)

Nature and the collective imaginary: protected areas as social constructions

  • Giacomo Zanolin
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rgioa2-2021oa12034
Submitted
giugno 4, 2021
Published
2021-06-18

Abstract

This paper proposes some reflections on the meaning of protected areas from the theoretical perspective of social nature. Starting from the idea that nature is a cultural construct and has no value in itself, the theoretical discussion presented here is based on three key themes that offer the opportunity to reflect on the potential role of protected areas as elements of a socially constructed reality and as tools for contemporary territorialisation. These theoretical objectives are achieved through the synthetic analysis
Rivista geografica of a case study, that of the Mantuan Oltrepò Parks System. The groundbreaking project generated by this remarkable experience and its distinctive approach to the preservation and promotion, offer useful suggestions to sustain and reinforce the idea that protected areas can play an important role in the construction and promotion of an alternative vision of what is natural, contributing to the creation of a collective imaginary based on the hybridisation between society and nature

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