Establishing protected areas has become one of the most important instruments in international nature protection policy. Integrative protection concepts such as the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Concept are not only meant to protect nature, but also to take economic and social issues into consideration and thereby try to improve the local population's livelihood. But does the local population actually regard a biosphere reserve as a benefit? Drawing on an example from Ukraine and Switzerland each local perceptions and attitudes towards biosphere reserves were compared. This was done in order to uncover the factors influencing people's perceptions of biosphere reserves independently from the cultural context.
Qualitative interviews were conducted in both study areas. The analysis of the interviews according to the method of "Grounded Theory" was based on the theory of psychological reactance, game theory and the concept of habitus.
It was found that people often spoke of perceived changes resulting from the establishment of a biosphere reserve, but to an outsider these described changes had no obvious connection with the protected area (e.g. rise of wood prices, more wild animals). The factors influencing local people's perceptions of biosphere reserves are their personal economic situation, the history of nature protection in the area, the relevance of nature protection in the people's lives, and the power balance between the involved stakeholders. By revealing various ways of reasoning regarding the key elements economic situation, nature protection, and power balance, it was possible to generate a typology. This typology describes the most important positions concerning the relationship of local communities to biosphere reserves with their "typical" connection between attitude, perceived changes and behaviour. With this typology it becomes possible to explain why people belonging to the same occupational group develop different attitudes towards biosphere reserves.
If the goal is economically and socially sustainable biodiversity protection, it is necessary to avoid misconceptions regarding the use of terms such as nature, nature protection and participation in whatever cultural context. Furthermore, it is essential to illuminate the existing balance of power between the involved stakeholders, and to understand why certain changes come to be attributed to the establishment of a protected area.