A stakeholder is any person, organization, social group, or society at large that has a stake in the site. Stakeholders can be internal or external to the site, but they have an interest in the site or use it in some manner. It is important to understand the implication of stakeholders in order to figure out the best way to manage natural resources, to reduce potential conflicts of interest and pave a way into finding solutions. Stakeholders are crucial to site management and communication between site managers and stakeholders is essential.

In this section of the toolkit, attention is paid to the different stakeholders and users of natural sites, from visitors to hunters and from forest managers to volunteers. Since this toolkit is always evolving, new topic will be added in the future. If you have information to share about involving stakeholders in management planning, please do not hesitate to contact the Eurosite Secretariat.