The National Park Gesäuse Partnership: From resistance to cooperation

This master thesis examines why the Gesäuse Partnership National Park was founded in 2004 and how it developed from then until today. The aim of this thesis is to describe the emergence and development of the Gesäuse National Park partnership, in which more than 80 companies from the region are currently working with the Gesäuse National Park. The analysis of questionnaires, interviews, observations and documents has shown that the partnership has developed into a stable network of regional companies that cooperate with the Gesäuse National Park as well as with each other. The original scepticism of the locals over the construction of the National Park was largely overcome and many local businesses could be motivated to cooperate. The partnership has also created a new social capital in the Gesäuse and helped to strengthen the local economy.