Listening to Communities: Lessons from Matsalu National Park

What can we learn when we ask local communities about their experiences of conservation?

Protected areas are often evaluated through ecological indicators such as species recovery, habitat quality or ecosystem health. These measures are fundamental to understanding whether conservation is achieving its environmental objectives.

Yet they tell only part of the story.

Conservation also influences the people who live, work and spend time in protected landscapes. It can shape livelihoods, recreation, local identity, relationships with nature and perceptions of fairness. Understanding these experiences is just as important if conservation is to be successful over the long term.

Matsalu National Park in Estonia provides an excellent example of why listening to local communities matters.

The place

Located on Estonia’s west coast, Matsalu National Park is one of Europe’s most important wetland ecosystems. Covering around 48,600 hectares, the park protects internationally important coastal meadows, reedbeds, forests and wetlands, and is recognised as one of the most significant stopover sites for migratory birds along the East Atlantic Flyway. It is designated as both a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and a Natura 2000 site. 

But Matsalu is much more than a haven for wildlife.

It is also a living landscape where local communities have farmed, fished and managed coastal meadows for generations. The conservation of these habitats depends not only on ecological management but also on the people who continue to live and work within the landscape.

Why listen to local communities?

Protected areas routinely monitor biodiversity.

Managers know how bird populations are changing, whether habitats are improving and whether conservation objectives are being achieved.

But ecological monitoring cannot answer questions such as:

• Do local people feel that the national park benefits their community?
• Has conservation strengthened people’s connection with nature?
• Are the benefits shared fairly?
• Do residents feel included in decisions?
• Where are improvements needed?

These questions require a different kind of evidence.

As part of the ERC-funded FIDELIO project, researchers worked with Matsalu National Park to better understand how local communities experienced living in and around the protected area. The study combined questionnaires and interviews with residents, exploring not only perceptions of the park but also its influence on everyday life. 

What did we learn?

People valued the park

The findings revealed strong support for Matsalu National Park.

Around 90% of respondents agreed that protecting nature was important, while over 90% said the national park was important to them personally. Many residents also reported regularly spending time in nature and participating in environmental activities, highlighting the close relationship between local communities and the surrounding landscape. 

For many people, Matsalu represented far more than a protected area—it was part of their identity.

Conservation was associated with positive social outcomes

Residents identified a range of benefits associated with the national park.

Among the five social outcomes measured, connectedness to nature received the highest average score, followed by recreation and quality of life. Economic benefits were perceived more modestly, with impacts on personal income receiving the lowest scores. 

This pattern is interesting.

Conservation is often expected to justify itself through economic benefits, yet people appeared to value many non-economic outcomes even more strongly. Opportunities to enjoy nature, spend time outdoors and experience the landscape were among the benefits residents appreciated most.

Communities also highlighted challenges

The assessment was equally valuable in identifying opportunities for improvement.

Some residents felt they had limited opportunities to influence decisions affecting the park. Others highlighted concerns about restrictions associated with protected area management or the way information was communicated. These perspectives remind us that conservation is experienced differently depending on people’s livelihoods, values and interactions with protected areas. 

Listening to these perspectives does not weaken conservation.

It helps strengthen it.

Not everyone experiences conservation in the same way

Perhaps the most important lesson from Matsalu was that there is no single “community view”.

Farmers, tourism businesses, long-term residents, recreational users and conservation practitioners often experience the same landscape differently.

Understanding these different perspectives allows managers to identify where conservation is working well, where conflicts may emerge and where communication or engagement could be improved.

Rather than treating local communities as a single group, social research helps reveal the diversity of experiences that exist within protected areas.

Why does this matter?

• Ecological monitoring tells us what is happening to nature.
• Social research helps us understand how conservation is experienced by people.
• Both forms of evidence are needed if conservation is to achieve lasting success.

Listening to communities helps protected areas understand where they are creating positive outcomes, where improvements are needed and how management can become more inclusive and responsive. It can strengthen trust, improve decision-making and build the long-term public support that conservation ultimately depends upon.

Perhaps most importantly, it reminds us that successful conservation is not only measured by healthier ecosystems, but also by stronger relationships between people and the places they care about.

Lessons from Matsalu National Park

• Conservation creates environmental and social outcomes.
• Many of the benefits people value most are not economic—they relate to recreation, connection with nature and quality of life.
• Different groups experience conservation differently.
• Listening to communities helps identify both strengths and challenges.
• Social evidence complements ecological monitoring and supports better conservation decisions.

Further reading

For readers interested in learning more, the full Matsalu National Park Social Impact Assessment provides a detailed overview of the methods, findings and recommendations, together with the follow-up survey exploring how perceptions changed over time.