The nature of nature : A study on the relationship between views on nature and national park attitude for visitors of Harz National Park, Germany

Sammanfattning: Learning about people’s views on nature and their attitudes towards national parks is important for the sustainable development and success of national parks. However, the relationship between these two topics is a relatively under-researched area. This study sets out to investigate this relationship for visitors of Harz National Park, Germany. Visitors’ views on nature, conservation measures in the national park and the relationship between those are analysed through data that was collected with an online survey during a period of two weeks in March 2022. Respondents favour a concept of human-nature interdependence but sometimes contradict themselves concerning the place of humans in nature. Harz National Park and conservation measures are accepted by respondents. Results show that knowledge about the importance of bark beetles is an area in which the national park can improve its information campaigns. A small to moderate but statistically significant relationship exists between views on nature and attitudes on conservation measures. This provides a basis for future continued research of Harz National Park, as well as in different contexts.