Land use planning in disputed mountain areas: conflicting interests and common arenas

Mountain areas are often subject to conflicts between different user interests and protection. The authors examine land use planning processes in Norway applied in accordance with the Planning and Building Act and the Nature Diversity Act and discuss how they might be improved. They find that although influenced by trends of decentralization, inclusion and integration, and principles for multilevel governance, the land use planning approaches for use and protection are still performed in the shadow of instrumentalism and hierarchy with little awareness of their limitations in practical use. The “communicative turn” has stimulated comprehensive participation processes, but these consensus-oriented processes have to some extent been able to handle conflicting interests. The authors conclude that in future planning it will be vital to establish common arenas as trading zones for coordinated municipal, regional and national planning, combining instrumental and communicative practices with agonistic approaches in a multilevel governance network.