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storms, bark beetle, fires or droughts. If it happens, it is called a catastrophe, crisis
or apocalypse as mentions above. Wilderness without change does not exist, of
course, but our romantic picture of how Šumava should look like does not allow
for change.
4.4 Cultural Construction of Wilderness in Šumava Mts. Is
Based on Consumerism
This point fits the philosophy of the modern economic lifestyle. Modern man needs
to consume wilderness just now, with little regard for future generations. There is no
time to wait hundred years for the regeneration of the forest, there is no patience
with slow evolutionary natural processes. Arguments for human interventions in
wilderness are based on our impatience.
All of these misuses are naturally interconnected and build a complicated picture
of wilderness cultural construction in modern society. Despite the underlying fact of
individual economic and political profit for many stakeholders involved in Šumava
Mts., we are facing reality, which is objective in terms of real power of the wilderness construction.
5 Conclusions
Is there any solution? For an answer, we need to stress a geographical fact; we have
no more space for some other wilderness in some other Šumava Mts. in central
Europe. Every region is full of competing interests and the Šumava Mts. are now at
the forefront of these competing conflicts.
A long-term perspective is often missing in the debate about the future of the
Šumava wilderness. Patience with natural long-term processes is missing. On the
other hand, it is necessary to ask about the historical, cultural and social-economic
context of wilderness. However, if we are convinced we need wilderness, it means
wilderness needs some space for its own development and narratives in our landscape as well in our cultural and economic values. It means to admit that wilderness
has a right to be independent of human intervention but not isolated from human
life. Bottom-up as well as top-down management of wilderness is not sufficient in
the case of the Šumava Mts. It requires more multilevel governance, based on the
modern cultural construction of wilderness and its values for modern man. The
cultural construction of wilderness is not only an academic topic as we see in the
case of conflicts and debates surrounding Šumava NP. The real power of culture
construction and its misuse in public debate affects the future existence of this
National Park.
E. Cudlínová et al.
storms, bark beetle, fires or droughts. If it happens, it is called a catastrophe, crisis
or apocalypse as mentions above. Wilderness without change does not exist, of
course, but our romantic picture of how Šumava should look like does not allow
for change.
4.4 Cultural Construction of Wilderness in Šumava Mts. Is
Based on Consumerism
This point fits the philosophy of the modern economic lifestyle. Modern man needs
to consume wilderness just now, with little regard for future generations. There is no
time to wait hundred years for the regeneration of the forest, there is no patience
with slow evolutionary natural processes. Arguments for human interventions in
wilderness are based on our impatience.
All of these misuses are naturally interconnected and build a complicated picture
of wilderness cultural construction in modern society. Despite the underlying fact of
individual economic and political profit for many stakeholders involved in Šumava
Mts., we are facing reality, which is objective in terms of real power of the wilderness construction.
5 Conclusions
Is there any solution? For an answer, we need to stress a geographical fact; we have
no more space for some other wilderness in some other Šumava Mts. in central
Europe. Every region is full of competing interests and the Šumava Mts. are now at
the forefront of these competing conflicts.
A long-term perspective is often missing in the debate about the future of the
Šumava wilderness. Patience with natural long-term processes is missing. On the
other hand, it is necessary to ask about the historical, cultural and social-economic
context of wilderness. However, if we are convinced we need wilderness, it means
wilderness needs some space for its own development and narratives in our landscape as well in our cultural and economic values. It means to admit that wilderness
has a right to be independent of human intervention but not isolated from human
life. Bottom-up as well as top-down management of wilderness is not sufficient in
the case of the Šumava Mts. It requires more multilevel governance, based on the
modern cultural construction of wilderness and its values for modern man. The
cultural construction of wilderness is not only an academic topic as we see in the
case of conflicts and debates surrounding Šumava NP. The real power of culture
construction and its misuse in public debate affects the future existence of this
National Park.
E. Cudlínová et al.