The term 'amenity migration' describes a broad diversity of patterns of human movement to rural places in search of particular lifestyle attributes. This review of international literature, drawn from the authors' own prior research and searches on relevant databases, synthesises findings on the implications of amenity migration for the creation and distribution of environmental harms and benefits. Further, we critique common framings of amenity migration- related environmental transformations and offer suggestions for future research. Analysis is positioned within a review of five common themes reflected in the cases we consider: land subdivision and residential development; changes in private land use; cross-boundary effects; effects on local governance institutions; and displacement of impacts. Within each of these themes, we discuss the uneven geographies of environmental transformation formed by diverse conceptions of 'nature', patterns of local management of amenity-driven transformations, and ecological contexts. We conclude that, through both intended and unintended environmental consequences of dominant activities and land uses, amenity migration results in a redistribution of environmental harms and benefits at multiple scales, as rural landscapes are (partially and incompletely) re-created in line with the ideals and expectations of amenity migrant populations.

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Re-creating the Rural, Reconstructing Nature: An International Literature Review of the Environmental Implications of Amenity Migration

The expert or the algorithm?—comparison of priority conservation areas in the Cape Floristic Region identified by park managers and reserve selection software

Understanding people’s beliefs and attitudes toward protected areas is a key factor in developing successful management plans to conserve those areas over the long-term. Yet, most of the emphasis in understanding people’s perceptions has been on the conflicts that exist between people and protected areas, such as loss of traditional extraction access or damage by wildlife to crops and livestock. This study addresses the need to explore people’s attitudes toward protected areas in a way that allows them to define and describe the values they hold toward the areas and the relevant issues and concepts. Three contrasting protected areas in the southwestern region of Nepal were chosen for this study to gain a broad representation of the values people hold toward different types of protected areas. Three themes emerged that describe the positive perceptions residents have: recreation/esthetics, environmental preservation, and economic benefits. Four themes emerged that describe the negative perceptions: negative economic impacts, belief that benefits are for the government or foreigners, fear of wildlife, and negative interactions with park guards. People’s perceptions are affected by different aspects of the areas, including the size of the area and people’s access to them, management objectives, history, and tourism. The diversity of these perceptions suggests that conservation strategies should recognize both positive and negative perceptions and work to foster and integrate diverse values in order to more accurately reflect the reality and complexity of people’s lives.

Residents’ attitudes toward three protected areas in southwestern Nepal

Polar travel has grown dramatically in the last two decades and in recent years has become the focus of academic inquiry. Using a model initially developed for understanding the nature of culture, action, and knowledge in the development of human geography, we explore the nature, scale, and scope of research related to tourism in the Arctic and the Antarctic. We take a comparative approach to highlight the tourism issues that are largely similar in the two polar regions. Polar tourism research appears to cluster around four main areas: tourism patterns, tourism impacts, tourism policy and management, and tourism development. By assessing these emerging research clusters, we identify research gaps and potentially fruitful lines of inquiry.

/pdf/a-review-of-tourism-research-in-the-polar-regions-2x1f885fbe.pdf

A review of tourism research in the polar regions.

Expanding visitation to Polar regions combined with climate warming increases the potential for alien species introduction and establishment. We quantified vascular plant propagule pressure associated with different groups of travelers to the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, and evaluated the potential of introduced seeds to germinate under the most favorable average Svalbard soil temperature (10°C). We sampled the footwear of 259 travelers arriving by air to Svalbard during the summer of 2008, recording 1,019 seeds: a mean of 3.9 (±0.8) seeds per traveler. Assuming the seed influx is representative for the whole year, we estimate a yearly seed load of around 270,000 by this vector alone. Seeds of 53 species were identified from 17 families, with Poaceae having both highest diversity and number of seeds. Eight of the families identified are among those most invasive worldwide, while the majority of the species identified were non-native to Svalbard. The number of seeds was highest on footwear that had been used in forested and alpine areas in the 3 months prior to traveling to Svalbard, and increased with the amount of soil affixed to footwear. In total, 26% of the collected seeds germinated under simulated Svalbard conditions. Our results demonstrate high propagule transport through aviation to highly visited cold-climate regions and isolated islands is occurring. Alien species establishment is expected to increase with climate change, particularly in high latitude regions, making the need for regional management considerations a priority.

Humans introduce viable seeds to the Arctic on footwear

This is a comprehensive and highly worthwhile volume for those interested in contemporary developments and change in mountain environments. While there is a growing body of research and literature on both mountain tourism in general and second-home tourism, this is probably the first book that takes a holistic view of the large and complex phenomenon of amenity migration in mountains. With increasing welfare, the last few decades have seen new migration patterns in many parts of the world, as people seek new places to live that have desirable natural and social conditions. This has grown into a more or less global societal phenomenon with significant implications for mountain environments and cultures. The fact that people travel to and seek places for their beauty and pleasant conditions is not a new phenomenon. But what partly defines and distinguishes amenity migration from tourism is the fact that large groups of people not only visit, but move to these areas and remain there more or less permanently. There are several reasons for these changes, such as changing demographics, increasing affluence, changes in public values, flexible work patterns, and communication technologies. These and several other reasons are explored in depth. The book is divided into 5 sections and 21 chapters. Since it compiles a range of different case studies and combines this with an overarching analysis and thoughts about the way ahead, there is something for everyone interested in the subject. However, with 17 case studies essentially exploring more or less the same concept, some of the problem statements and discussions become somewhat repetitive. On the other hand, there is a wealth of information about amenity developments and conditions around the world, and anyone dealing with mountain development, tourism, second homes, and regional economic development will find this book very useful. It is clear that the editor and authors all share a concern about what is happening in mountains throughout the world. The book states clearly that mountains are vulnerable and subject to rapid change, and that amenity migration is one of the most important current processes unfolding in mountain regions. There is little question that there is reason for concern about negative environmental and social impacts, but several chapters also discuss and document important positive effects on communities, economies, and management. As such, this volume is a very timely contribution, providing a comprehensive coverage of patterns of amenity migration and its effects at international as well as regional and local levels. The 3 introductory chapters outline meta-themes in amenity migration. In the first chapter, Laurence Moss provides an overview of the phenomenon; why people come to mountains in increasing numbers; what facilitates and drives the migration; ecological, economic and cultural effects; why a mountain focus is so important; and some of the actions taken to date to deal with this development. This chapter sets the stage for the rest of the book and defines the key concepts. I particularly enjoyed the term “trophy home,” now easily recognized in many affluent mountain communities around the world. The next chapter converses nicely around the fascinating spiritual dimension of moving to the mountains. Harvey Locke balances aptly between the more factual analysis of spirituality as it relates to human migration to mountains, and self reflection. Personally, I would have liked him to expand this chapter, but there are other texts that do this for the keenly interested. In Chapter 3, Linda McMillan takes the reader, albeit quickly, through mountain recreation history in the USA since approximately the 1950s. The main contribution of this chapter is to show the significant impacts of recreation users on mountain environments, and how access, interest and impacts have grown considerably in the last couple of decades. She identifies 2 types of recreation users—traditional and non-traditional—and traces their different behavior, values, and impacts on mountain ecologies. The optimistic stance is that some recreation users are emerging as important stakeholders who can strengthen the protection of mountain environments. The next 3 sections are structured around contributions on amenity migration in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and the Pacific. The first section is the most comprehensive, due to the comparatively larger amount of amenity-related research conducted in this part of the world. Eight different chapters cover various locations and contexts which have felt the impacts of amenity migration. These include the linkages between amenities and migration at different geographic scales in the USA, the effects of 20 years of amenity migration in New Mexico, and the failures of policymakers and planners to deal with this development. Other chapters discuss transportation issues, changes in job markets following migration patterns, the skills and assets brought to a community by in-migrants, the transformation of communities from one-season to 182

The Amenity Migrants—Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and Their Cultures Laurence A.G. Moss . Wallingford, United Kingdom. CABI. 2006. ix + 329 pp. £55, US$100. ISBN: ISBN 0-85199084-3.

The extent of protected areas is increasing worldwide. Traditionally, a great deal of the protected lands have been sit- uated in ecologically and economically marginal regions, such as mountains, often on state-owned land. In recent years, however, new designations have increasingly been applied to areas with more private land, more people, greater economic activity, and thus have resulted in a higher degree of conflict. Due to several forces, public involvement in natural resource planning is developing rapidly. This development is largely driven by environmental management institutions as a means to improve efficiency and equity in planning processes. Although well intended, these efforts often meet with problems caused by a lack of understanding of the community perspectives on resource conflicts. In this study we discuss our experiences from following the process of expansion of a national park in southern Norway. We argue that it is essential to understand the complex relationships and meanings local peo- ple develop with their surroundings in order to facilitate negotiation over contested issues. This has important implications for the way managers apply different types of knowledge, develop strategies, and communicate with local interests.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/3674113

National park planning and local participation: some reflections from a mountain region in southern norway

The Arctic is a region of spectacular and diverse mountain environments. One example is the Svalbard Archipelago in the Norwegian high arctic. Despite its remote location in the Arctic Ocean, Svalbard has an astonishingly diverse economy based on coal mining, arctic research, and the island's geostrategic importance. In recent years, tourism has become increasingly important, with more than a fourfold increase in tourists from the 1970s to the 1990s. This development poses serious threats to the island's highly vulnerable arctic–alpine environment. A management plan for tourism and outdoor recreation has been prepared in recent years, with a view to safeguarding the unique environment and keeping tourism development within environmentally sustainable and commercially acceptable boundaries.

Bjørn P. Kaltenborn

Papers

The Amenity Migrants—Seeking and Sustaining Mountains and Their Cultures Laurence A.G. Moss . Wallingford, United Kingdom. CABI. 2006. ix + 329 pp. £55, US$100. ISBN: ISBN 0-85199084-3.

National park planning and local participation: some reflections from a mountain region in southern norway

Arctic-Alpine Environments and Tourism: Can Sustainability be Planned? Lessons Learned on Svalbard