Climate Resilience and Land Governance: Insights From Key Stakeholders in Italian Protected Areas

ABSTRACT

Protected areas (PAs) are increasingly recognized as nature‐based solutions for climate adaptation and territorial resilience under SDG 13. However, the integration of climate change measures into land governance frameworks remains socially and politically contested. However, tensions among stakeholders can hinder the achievement of these objectives. This study examines the governance of terrestrial PAs in Italy through the use of Q methodology, with the aim of exploring how four key stakeholder groups—sustainability scholars, farmers, hoteliers, and local administrators—perceive the current management of PAs. The analysis identifies four distinct discourses, each reflecting different priorities and viewpoints concerning the environmental, political, economic, and social dimensions of protected area governance. While a majority of stakeholders—particularly sustainability scholars and local administrators—acknowledge the ecological and climate‐related benefits of PAs, other groups, such as farmers and hoteliers, raise critical concerns about political mismanagement and negative economic impacts. These findings highlight the need to strengthen institutional and social capacity for climate adaptation through integrated and inclusive governance, while proposing models capable of reconciling conflicting stakeholder discourses and improving policy coherence.