The Usability of the Environmental Management System in the Rokua Area

Nordia Geographical Publications 32: 2, 11–24 Anne Hynönen

The usability of the environmental management system in the Rokua area

Anne Hynönen Department of Geography, University of Oulu

Abstract. Environmental awareness is increasingly looked upon as one of the most important factors in the appealing nature of a tourist destination, tourist businesses and even whole tourist regions are now required more than ever to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental sustainability of their operations. This article focuses on assessing how usable a regional environmental management system (EMS) is in a tourism region spreading across regional (municipal) administrative frontiers, and what should be specially considered in the execution of the EMS programme as regards local tourism business. Rokua tourism area is the first ever EMS in the world set up fur such a large geographical area. It is necessary to work out proposals that would enhance EMS’s and make them increasingly efficient in promoting actions and operations identified as more essential as regards environmental protection. This survey shows that the environmental management system succeeds in shaping the guidelines and recommendations of sustainable development, which all too often remain rather obscure and far too generalized.

Background ality (Berry & Ladkin 1997; Richards & Hall 2000). The growth of tourism and its effects – Accounting for comprehensiveness sets positive and negative – have unearthed a new demands for the planning and devel- number of environmental, cultural and eco- opment of tourism. The development of nomic questions. While environmental tourism is moving away from the tradition- awareness is increasingly looked upon as al ways of developing individual actions or one of the most important factors in the operations and towards proactive, compre- appealing nature of a tourist destination, hensive development strategies, with spe- tourist businesses and even whole tourist cial focus on the co-operation between dif- regions are now required more than ever ferent actors and lines of operation – in to demonstrate the economic, social and accordance with the principles of sustaina- environmental sustainability of their oper- ble development. Further important actors ations. These sustainability requirements will in modern tourism development are the have to include a future look into the needs authorities responsible for elements includ- of coming generations and the require- ed in tourism (industrial development, en- ments of comprehensiveness and region- vironmental control, traffic and communi-

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cations, marketing etc.), as well as investors mentally aware means of operation. The and sponsors. Tourism is a branch of in- great majority of the development in tour- dustry including a variety of different prod- ism is driven by self-interest rather than by ucts, which often shows highly divergent genuine concern for environmental issues control and guidance strategies due to the (Mastny 2002:146-147). fact that tourism development involves a This research is concerned with the ap- whole range of different public and private plicability of environmental management sectors (Fennel 1999; Saarinen 2001). As systems in the field of tourism, using the regards the participation of the different EN ISO 14001 environmental manage- interest groups, the fact that the actions or ment system for the Rokua area as a sam- different groups, societies and communi- ple case. The aim of the Rokua environ- ties are governed by different values has to mental management system, which involves be taken into account. It is a fundamental both private and public actors, is to devel- element of sustainability to be able to off- op tourism in the Rokua region in an eco- set the different goals, possible controver- logically sustainable way, also taking into sies and compromises brought about by the account the unique natural conditions of the different values. Therefore, a balance is no area. The environmental management sys- longer sought between man and nature, but tem (EMS) thus serves as a functional tool rather between different people and differ- in the planning and execution of tourism ent interests of groups of people (Kinnunen development in the area. 2001: 101). Thus, tourism planning shall be found- Tourism region and environment ed on ecological, economic and social sustainability. One of the primary goals of The effects of tourism on the environment planning is to minimize the negative effects can be assessed (and controlled) using var- of tourism. Most importantly, this view- ious methods. These methods include the point involves identifying the environmen- assessment of environmental influence and tal issues affected by tourism. Regarding the environmental support capacity, quality protection of environment, this is essentially management, and regional environmental to do with the volume of visitors and how management systems. Further measures it can be controlled. Sustainable tourism encompass guidelines on environmentally has not so much to do with the “tourism aware operations and pro-environmental or no tourism” issue, but rather “how behaviour codes compiled for tourist busi- much, and what kind of development” nesses and individual visitors respectively (Saarinen 2001: 70). Basically, however, (see Matkailun edistämiskeskus 1995). Most tourism is a commercial business, which is of the tools mentioned above are mainly to a great extent run by international hotel designed to be used in tourist businesses or chains, tour operators and transportation focused on specific important issues con- firms. It will certainly not be easy to find a cerning the whole region, such as environ- balance between the goal of commercial mental degradation. It is very illustrative of tourism to increase the number of visitors, the interest shown for the relationship be- and the need to adopt sustainable, environ- tween tourism and environment that there

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are more than 100 eco labels (or green la- er, regional perspective rather than looking bels) in use today. These eco labels are – at things from the viewpoint of an individ- together with various environmental priz- ual business or branch of business. Look- es and environmental behaviour codes de- ing at sustainable development from the signed for visitors – examples of concrete point of view of tourism business is, how- results and achievements yielded by sustain- ever, a controversial issue. On the one hand, able tourism strategies. However, there is the tourism industry is seeking to maximize still little research available on how the var- the economic benefit, and on the other ying tools of sustainable tourism have suc- hand, public authorities are striving to pro- ceeded in keeping in line with the principles tect regional environmental tourism re- of sustainable tourism at regional level (cf. sources by means of various strategies Lee 2000; Font 2002; Loven 2003). (Font & Ahjem 1999: 73). This controver- ISO 14 001, the standard on environ- sy gives rise to an essential problem in tour- mental management systems by the Inter- ism planning and development, namely the national Organization for Standardization lack of co-operation between the public (ISO), which was launched 1996, is one of and private sectors (cf. Berry & Ladkin the best-known environmental programmes 1997; Gunn 1999: 84; Hall 2000). in the world. The ISO 14 001 standard If, however, the general aim is to boost lends itself to use in a wide variety of do- the social, economic and environmental mains. It is concerned with general environ- impacts of tourism – and especially to do mental management issues in different or- it in a pro-environmental way – the co- ganizations, such as environmental manage- operation between the public and private ment systems, environmental auditing, life- sectors will have to take on a key role, while span assessments, and different environ- the goals and operations of individual busi- mental certifications (Nelson et al. 1993: nesses will also have to be considered in the 245). planning process (fig. 1). Tourism business involves a whole range The environmental awareness of travel- of different lines of activity, and as a result lers has increased at the same time as the heterogeneity specific operational guidelines increased spare time and the ageing of and codes have been prepared for tourism, population have brought changes to the such as the Blue Flag, which works towards demand of tourism, forcing it to serve an sustainable development at beaches/mari- increasing amount of individual needs than nas, and the ecological criteria of the Swan, before. This development highlights the the Nordic ecolabel for hotels (Pohjois- need for adopting general principles direct- mainen ympäristömerkintä 2002). ed at sustainable tourism development. Problems with environmental manage- Regarding tourism areas, this clearly sug- ment systems and ecolabels are claimed to gests taking a comprehensive regional ap- arise from their relatively strict delimitation proach, in which an attempt is made to according to specific fields and also their harmonize the goals and aims of tourism rather general guidelines. In sustainable tour- business with those of sustainable develop- ism development, the focus is on compre- ment (Wahab & Pigram 1997; Fennell 1999; hensive approach, which involves a broad- Saarinen 2001).

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Sustainable Tourism tourism activities activities

Sustainable development of destination

Tourism Destination Tourism Destination

Limited Definition Holistic Definition

Figure 1. Definition of sustainable tourism area (Lee 2000).

Usable of regional EMS in and operations identified as more essential Rokua area as regards environmental protection. Al- though several administrative sectors and The environmental management system public actors do have their own specific (EMS) implemented for the Rokua Natu- environmental instructions and codes, there ra area is the first ever EMS in the world has been hardly any research on the co- set up fur such a large geographical area. operative action or combined effects of the The ISO 14001 certification from the Finn- operations of the actors named above. ish Standards Association (SFS) was re- This article focuses on assessing how ceived on year 2000. At present, neither the usable a regional EMS is in a tourism re- award grantors nor those in operation at gion spreading across regional (municipal) the tourism destinations have an adequate administrative frontiers, and what should be enough picture of how they should go specially considered in the execution of the about their administrative and building EMS programme as regards local tourism practices and other everyday routines so that business. This survey is part of the EU- the certificate criteria are fulfilled. Accord- funded LIFE ENVIRONMENT project ing to the acquired experience, EMS’s are, entitled “Ecological Tourism Environment generally speaking, not too effective as re- of Rokua”. The general aim of the project gards their guidance-related impact. It is is to demonstrate the operations of an therefore necessary to work out proposals ecologically sustainable tourism region. A that would enhance EMS’s and make them further goal is to work out new methods increasingly efficient in promoting actions of reducing the controversy between tour-

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ism and the vulnerability of nature and to businesses providing year-round accom- develop new ways of repairing environ- modation in the area, with beds number- mental damage. Developing administrative ing approx. 600. The Rokua area with its practices, construction guidance systems various facilities and activities offers em- and everyday routines complying with the ployment to 150 people. environmental certificate for public and private actors operating in the area is also The environmental management one of the central tasks of this program. system of Rokua

Rokua tourism region The Rokua Environmental Management System commenced during the period Rokua is situated 70 kilometres east of 1998-2000 in connection with the overall Oulu, in Northern Finland, and is marked development programme of the area, by its 20 km long and 4 to 6 km wide for- called the “Rokua Strategy”. Up until now, mation of eskers and sand hills, a post-gla- the land use in Rokua has been based on cial land formation, which stands out clearly separate decisions concerning individual from the surrounding plains of Northern cases, denoting that no-one has been car- Ostrobothnia. The region of Rokua crosses rying the responsibility for a comprehen- the borders of three municipalities: Muhos, sive strategy on the use of the area or plan- Utajärvi and Vaala. Rokua includes the ning its future use. As tourism and tour- smallest national park in Finland (with an ism-related building activities, in general, area of 4 km2). and the number of holiday homes, in par- The landscape typically consists of bar- ticular, are increasing, the use of the area has ren rolling lichen heaths with an extremely to be viewed in connection with its envi- vulnerable shallow peat-layer, clear lakes ronmental tolerance capacity (Suunnitte- and kettle holes, possibly with a small lake lukeskus 2001:5,12). or a small open bog at the bottom. The The Rokua EN ISO 14001 compliant nature of Rokua is extremely vulnerable, environmental management system has four especially the ground surface as it cannot primary goals: sustainable use of the cope with continuous wear by visitors. The Rokuan landscape (eskers and sand hills), current ‘touristic use’ of the region is limit- environmentally sustainable building prac- ed to some smaller areas, and seasonally to tices, the management and control of light the relatively short peak periods of sum- traffic (trails etc.), waste management, and mer and winter. the protection of water areas (lakes and Rokua is a renowned holiday resort with brooks). The geographical delimitation of outstanding opportunities for trekking and the Rokua EMS is the same as that of the other outdoor activities. The combined total corresponding Rokua Natura area, cover- of overnight stays of accommodation ing a total area of 4224 ha. service providers in the area amounts to The nature in Rokua fulfils the criteria set approx. 84,000 per year. The overall total for the Finnish conservation programme on number of visitors, including day trippers glacifluvial esker formations and some parts and those staying overnight, is estimated to of it match those set for shoreline protec- be some 30,000. There are a total of 5 tion areas. The Rokua national park is also

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located in the area. The conservation of The environmental management system these areas is carried out in accordance with of Rokua is founded on a joint agreement Finnish nature reserve legislation and the of long-term environmental policy, which eskers in accordance with the act on soil has served as a basis for determining re- excavation. Shoreline areas are protected gional and actor-specific environmental in accordance with the Planning and Con- goals and measures (fig. 2). The efficiency struction Act (Suunnittelukeskus 2001: 7). and serviceability of the EMS is evaluated The environmental management system through annual internal assessments and also involves 13 different actors: 3 municipali- through external evaluations, according to ties, 7 businesses offering tourism services, the certificate guidelines. the fishery association in charge of the fish- A detailed description of the Rokua ing district, a representative of the holiday EMS can be found in the Rokua environ- homers and a representative of the Forest mental handbook, which has been designed and Park Service. The total land area gov- to provide guidance in environmental issues erned by the businesses involved in Rokua to public and private actors operating in the EMS is 1435 ha, making up 34% of the area. The environmental handbook is an total area. The remaining 66% of the land essential tool for the EMS, including a de- area are owned by private landholders and tailed description – in accordance with the leisure home proprietors. The environmen- certificate requirements – of regional envi- tal contribution of these privately owned ronmental policy, goals, concrete environ- areas is of minor importance, as they lack mental measures and documentation req- standard year-round housing and are mainly uisites. used for forestry and leisure purposes. Fur- thermore, the leisure homes are primarily Research material and method used only a few weeks each year. The number of landholders totals 60 and there In order to enhance the existing EMS, a are 70 leisure homes in the area. survey was conducted in spring 2003, to Each of the different actors involved in collate detailed data on the benefits and the programme has nominated a person problems of the EMS, and also to fathom responsible for environmental issues, and out development opportunities for com- the collective body of the delegated per- mon regional environmental issues. The sons is called the environmental division of questionnaire was sent to all actors involved Rokua. The environmental division and the in the environmental management system whole of the Rokua EMS fall within the and also to other authorities and people in authority of Rokuan Seura (Rokua Socie- charge of developing the area and tourism ty), cherishing the traditions and history of in Rokua. Consequently, the questionnaire the region. The environmental division is was sent to a total of 33 authorities work- responsible for maintaining, developing and ing in the three municipalities (Utajärvi, monitoring the EMS operations. A part- Muhos and Vaala), and also to another 24 time environmental manager works as the focal actors operating in the area. The ques- EMS contact person, who is in charge of tionnaire was also sent to all of the 66 hol- co-ordinating, planning and reporting en- iday home owners. In addition, winter vis- vironmental division operations. itors to the area were interviewed (table 1).

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Statutory requirements, Regional environmental survey, long-term identified ENVIRONMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS POLICY * Rokua Landscape

Regional * Environmentally and sustainable construction actor-specific * Control and ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS management of traffic

* Waste management

*Protection of waters

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES

Figure 2. Rokua environmental management system.

Benefits of EMS ascribed to the PR benefit and the increased public awareness of the area through the To begin with, the opinions expressed on coverage of the project in various media the Rokua EMS were viewed through the (table 2). The publicity boosted by the benefits yielded by it. The greatest merit was adoption of EMS has in fact contributed

Table 1. Research material.

Sent Answers Answer rate % Actors involved in the environmental management system 14 12 85 Municipal actors (heads of municipal councils, members of municipal executive board, municipal managers) 33 12 36 Other actors (The Finnish Environment Institute, North Ostrobothnia Regional Council, local forestry society and sports clubs) 24 11 45 Holiday home owners 66 32 48 Total 137 67 49 Visitor interviews 60 Total 127

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Table 2. Respondents opinions on the benefits of the EMS in Rokua 2003.

Regional benefits of EMS PR/publicity/marketing -Improved image of Rokua, exploitability in marketing -Rokua information to other travel destinations -Possibility of comparing Rokua with other areas -Increased awareness of Rokua among the actors in the field of tourism Methodicalness -Defines target and desired state -Exactness -Everything is put down black and white, which makes it easy to control what is happening -Practical measures taken -Controlled construction of routes for outdoor activities -Focus on sustainable development solutions Co-operation -Enhanced co-coperation -Common goals and operation guidelines Level of -Increased familiarity with environmental issues among knowledge/know-how actors -Increased quality-awareness -Guidance/information also for visitors -Improved course signals and signs Environmental -Increased environmental awareness protection -Increased awareness of vulnerability of ground surface -Trails and cross-country routes are laid so that they fit the landscape -Tidiness OTHER -LIFE funding -Improved sewage systems

to the positive image of Rokua. About environmental issues, and improved co- 50% of the interviewed visitors were aware operations. The methodicalness and com- of the environmental management system mon desired/target state regarding activi- thanks to the media. Only five out of more ties and operations were pointed out as than sixty claimed that the programme had further positive issues. The awareness and brought no benefit at all. knowledge of the vulnerability of local In addition to the improved public im- nature had clearly increased, and maintain- age, numerous respondents made reference ing the EMS is regarded as an unconditional to increased awareness of the environment prerequisite for the future and for expand- and nature itself, enhanced information on ing tourism activities.

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Several respondents highlighted the fact The EMS was also considered rather that pro-environmental measures have also expensive, as the benefits gained from it been taken without the environmental sys- could not be seen. The assessment of the tem, yet the EMS has reinforced the oper- benefits yielded by the system was regard- ations with increased credibility and impor- ed as one of the most important develop- tance. The SFS certificate was considered ment needs. Providing concrete evidence of to make operations more co-ordinated and the benefits would also boost the motiva- consistent. Furthermore, the EMS has pro- tion of the actors and make them more vided the actors with new information on committed to the system. the environmental impacts of different The documentation of the actions and operations, and contributed to improved operations, which is a fundamental part of co-operation. The benefits of cost-efficien- any certified system, was felt to take up too cy are yet to be seen. much time, which could be ascribed to the fact that the actors were not used to record- Problems with EMS ing the events with the precision required by the system. The SFS documentation is The lack of transparency was referred to fundamentally used as a means of verify- as one of the negative points of the envi- ing that the system is in use. Yet it may also ronmental management system. At present, be noted that although the documentation the EMS is hard to maintain, and the ter- and compilation of various reports do re- minology and concepts covered in the en- quire quite a lot of time in the preliminary vironmental handbook still appear partly phases, actually constituting quite a great blurred to the actors involved. These prob- share of all operations, the relative rate of lems can be – to a great extent – ascribed documentation is likely to decrease in the to the instructions laid down by SFS. The future. SFS guidelines are primarily designed to be applied in industrial businesses, which The usability of environmental makes it problematic to employ them in the management system in tourism field of tourism, and especially so in region- regions al operations. As such the SFS instructions are not suitable for use in regional tourism The general applicability of environmental operations. management systems in tourism areas is The organization of the EMS was re- assessed through the Rokua case sample. ferred to as highly bureaucratic. The sys- For evaluation purposes, three levels are tem lacks certain concreteness and it was felt distinguished: not to suit other operations of the respond- - Regionality ents. The fact that not all of the actors op- - Actors involved in EMS erating in the area were involved in the sys- - The EMS itself tem was considered a further problem. It was felt that the idea of regionality and the Regionality overall efficiency of the system were suf- fering as a result of this problem. In the application of EMS, the geographical features of the area will have to be con-

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sidered, the most essential points being the nominated environment representatives. In geographical delimitation of the EMS ap- this co-operation, the roles of planning, plication area and the region-specific natu- preventive measures and developing fol- ral conditions. As the system applied is a low-up activities were considered particu- regional one, there will always be the issues larly important. The development of envi- of who / which actor is going to be exe- ronmental issues should focus on practical cuting environmental measures regionally? measures considering the special geographic In the end, the system has to do with meas- character of the area and also paying spe- ures carried out jointly by the actors in the cial attention to issues that can be influenced area. The case of Rokua shows a strong through concrete measures, such as the contribution from the public sector; the management and control of visitor traffic municipalities involved play an essential role and developing routes and trails. The aware- in the overall project, since the authorities ness of the vulnerability of the nature in are in charge of the general development, Rokua, together with the protection of ar- land use and infrastructure of the area. eas subject to degradation and the repair of The environmental goals and measures the damage already inflicted on the environ- of businesses should optimally complement ment are among the most important issues the more general regional goals and meas- to be considered when developing the dis- ures. To achieve optimal results, special at- trict of Rokua. tention has to be paid to defining the most important problems regarding both busi- Actors involved in EMS nesses and the whole area, which will then be tackled by the environmental manage- The Rokua environmental management ment system. system involves different kinds of actors The wide variety of different actors showing remarkable differences in their poses a special challenge to the EMS – all ways of operation and resources alike. The the more when the parties involved include parties involved are private persons, tour- major actors, such as municipalities, and ism service providers, non-commercial small businesses employing just one person actors and municipal organizations. The simultaneously. Furthermore, there are a development measures can be viewed on number of other important actors operat- the level of the individual and also on that ing in the area that are not directly involved of the organization, in which attention is in the environmental programme, but the drawn to how to make and keep actors operations of which have an indirect influ- motivated (fig. 3). ence on the goals defined in the system (e.g. The development of environmental is- landscape and control of visitor traffic). sues in Rokua has been partly started at the It is to be noted that although co-opera- top end of the organizations, as “orders” tion has increased along with the adoption given down the organizational chain of of the environmental system, its develop- command. In this case, the commitment of ment remains to be given important con- the management and an efficient linking of sideration. On this issue, the focus will have environmental issues to the organizations to be laid on giving special attention to pro- may easily remain unresolved in practice. moting the co-operative activities of the This is what is likely to have happened with

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Regionality - Combining regional and actor- specific goals and measures - Commitment of actors - Special geographic character of the area

Factors related to different fields Actor-specific factors: of activity: - Resources (lack of time - Accommodation sector and knowledge) - Associations, communities - Motivation - Municipalities - Attitudes

Cultural Differences in ways of operation

Figure 3. Regional and actor-specific development needs of EMS in Rokua.

the environmental issues in Rokua regard- ment can be found in the volume of re- ing regional goals and measures. Concern- sources (e.g. time, know-how, and econom- ing the regionality aspects of the EMS, these ic resources). common regional goals will have to be considered in addition to business-specific Environmental management system operations. The discussion about who is responsible for the development and fur- Environmental management systems have thering of common issues is still in motion. traditionally been designed to fulfil the Genuine commitment can be achieved by needs of a single firm or line of business, directing the discussion to practical matters which makes the maintenance of the sys- of common interest. Accordingly, in order tem straightforward, as roles and respon- to consolidate commitment, the roles and sibilities can be defined within the single responsibilities of the actors in regional organization. One of the basic problems matters will have to be concretized. with regional development systems is the In developing actor-specific environ- absence of a single, clearly defined organ- mental issues, the optimal perspective is ization, which would allow linking with the from bottom up, which makes the connec- EMS. In Rokua, an attempt is being made tion with everyday routines clear. Although to connect environmental issues so closely there is a lot of will to develop operations, to the actors’ normal operations that it the linking of these with everyday routines would lend the environmental management involves prioritizing the actions. Therefore, system a “self-organizing” capacity. How- the critical factor in actor-specific develop- ever, it requires a considerable amount of

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time to make the environmental routines of the benefits gained from EMS can be work and have them documented in ac- looked upon as one of the key tasks with- cordance with the requirements of the cer- in the development process. tificate. The implementation of an environmental Although the granting of the environ- management system involves executing mental certificate is one of the fundamen- annual routines regarding actor-specific tal parts of the environmental management environmental issues, denoting a set of en- system, it does not necessarily mean that the vironmental tasks essential for the opera- environmental issues of the respective re- tion of the environmental management gion would automatically be in order. Quite system. Systematic documentation of en- the reverse, a certified system requires con- vironmental events helps the actors to de- tinuous improvement and development of velop their work processes, yields a certain the different operations involved. During synergy-related benefit and ties environ- the implementation of the EMS in Rokua, mental issues closely to normal routines. there has been a lot of critical discussion Further motivation for EMS adoption is concerning the importance and meaning of provided by prospects of cost savings, and the maintenance for the certificate. The boosting staff commitment through im- economic investments in the environmen- proving the level of know-how. tal system and its upkeep have not yet been The share of EMS utilization in other balanced by the benefits gained from the regional operations, such as marketing, is still system in the early phases of the pro- small, but future plans include a broader use gramme implementation. Yet, in the case of the environmental system for various of Rokua, bringing EMS into fruition is PR purposes. The development of ecolog- considerably facilitated by the fact that ical tourism will help in creating a more some of the individual actors already have positive image and gaining a competitive their own quality systems in place (The Spa edge vis-à-vis other tourism destinations. and Wellness hotel Rokua, the Municipality of Utajärvi and the Forest and Park Serv- Discussion ice). To be able to see the benefits brought The Rokua environmental management by the environmental system, appropriate system succeeds in meeting the principles evaluation tools are needed, which are still of sustainable development, which justifies in the process of being developed. The its application in various kinds of tourism results yielded by EMS cannot be assessed areas. Sustainability is also brought to life simply by monitoring the consumption of in the joint long-term environmental poli- water or energy; the starting point of the cy, which represents the basis for the im- assessment is formed by target states or plementation of the entire EMS pro- goals which are often relatively difficult to gramme. A further strength of the system evaluate (such as landscape conservation can be found in the way that environmen- and protection of waters), and the assess- tal issues are pursued both on the level of ment of which requires the use of quality- individual actors or businesses, and in re- related indicators in addition to – or instead gional operations; this point has been high- of –quantity-related ones. The evaluation lighted in several research reports concern-

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ing sustainable development (cf. Berry & needs. Even if the system itself were of a Ladkin 1997, Lee 2000). Furthermore, the regional nature, the development stance co-operation between private and public should be taken as that of the individual sectors is clearly visible in the EMS imple- actor. This approach would allow system mentation process, and the role of the pub- operations to be developed from a pre- lic sector – in this case, that of the munici- dominantly actor-oriented starting point, pality – can be regarded as essential for the which would also help make the system- success of the implementation process. The more palpable and improve the level of aims and goals of the environmental man- commitment. Rokua is a piloting region as agement system are closely connected with regards the development of regional envi- the NATURA 2000 area of Rokua. The ronmental management systems. This is also conservation of the Rokua landscape – the reflected in the problems encountered, geomorphologically unique formation of which can largely be looked upon as a eskers and sand dunes and the distinctive standard occurrence in a pilot scheme. The characteristics of local flora – is among the development of the different operations top priority goals of the Rokua EMS pro- and making them part of standard proc- gramme. Finally, it can be noted that the esses is bound to require a certain amount environmental management system suc- of time – and a lot of persistent effort. ceeds in shaping the guidelines and recommendations of sustainable development, which all too often remain rather obscure Acknowledgements and far too generalized. In all, the recommendation given by the This paper is supported by the European actors involved in the implementation proc- Union LIFE programme and Rokua Life ess, and also that of SFS, is to simplify the 2002-2005 “Ecologically Sound Tourism in environmental system to suit the respective Rokua Area”

References

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