The Snowdonia Society was founded in 1968

Sustainable tourism, rural housing and community liaison were on experts' agenda at a two-day conference in Snowdonia.

The event, organised by the Snowdonia Society, was arranged to promote better communication and understanding between the people who live and work in the national park and those who manage it.

Representatives from councils, tourist organisations, businesses and members of the public took part.

Entitled "People in the Park", the society's policy director Marika Fusser said it was an opportunity to discuss issues affecting communities there.

Debate

"There were a mix of people attending - Welsh and non-Welsh speakers, people who have recently moved into the park and those who have grown-up there," she said.

The mountain's peak

Harold Carter, of the Institute of Geography at the University of Wales Aberystwyth, delivered an address on problems of population and housing in rural Wales.

Ms Fusser said it provoked one of the liveliest debates of the weekend.

"In the second half of the century there was a decrease in the local population - the people who have been born there.

"Since the 1970s there has been an increase in the people who have moved into the area.

"In the discussion that followed people but forward their views as to the problems of the Welsh language, farming and to the way tourism can be developed in a way that is favourable for the local population."

Graham Day, of the University of Wales School of Sociology and Social Policy in Bangor, addressed the issue of consultation and community liaison.

"The Snowdonia Society has not been engaged very much with the policy issues affecting local communities but we felt it was a big issue and there was a need to educate ourselves and other people," added Ms Fusser.

"The community has to be engaged if issues like sustainable tourism - tourism that does not harm the natural environment - is to be successful."

Hywyn Williams, community liaison officer for the Snowdonia National Park Authority, spoke on how the organisation is working to improve its involvement with towns and villages.

Campaigns

On Sunday, he was leading a field trip to Beddgelert Forest to show an example of how the authority was working side by side with the people living there.

"There has been a lot of change in recent years," added Ms Fusser.

But she said there was scope for further improvement.

She said only with the support and involvement of people living in the park could problems such as housing, population and employment be tackled.

The 2,700-strong society, which is a charity, was established in 1968 to ensure that the landscape, wildlife and culture of Snowdonia remains for future generations to enjoy

It has recently campaigned on the decommissioning of the nuclear power station at Trawsfynydd and the laying of overhead telephone and electricity line underground.