http://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/special_issues/natural-resources/ Dear Colleagues, To meet the requirements of the current nature protection system, authorities of many countries have to reconstruct the system and methodology of managing natural resources. This pertains to both: changes in the attitude to natural resource management from a strictly traditional one (considering the biophysical perspective to be the most important perspective in the resource management decision-making process) to a more modern one (characterized by a social sciences approach to natural resource issues, and creating a system allowing for their practical application). It seems impossible to create such a system without the collaboration of human dimension (HD) approach. A rising number of conflicts emerging as a result of implementing various forms of environmental protection programs requires a better understanding of the social consequences of decisions concerning natural resources, and methods’ improvement of employing HD information in the decision-making process. All studies on human dimension approach worldwide are warmly welcomed in the following Special Issue of Diversity. We are particularly interested in case studies showing how the incorporation of HD approach has affected the natural resources management both in the global scale and in individual countries. Malgorzata Grodzinska-Jurczak, Ph. D. Guest Editor Submission Information All manuscripts should be submitted to diversity@mdpi.com with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI. For the first two issues, to be published in 2009 and 2010, the Article Processing Charges (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/2/9/1130/ Public participation is a key element in nature conservation in Europe and a necessity for collecting broad scale data on biodiversity and its dynamics. However, vast societal differences exist between eastern and western European countries, resulting in problems for public participation in post-communist states as compared to western countries. Here, we compare diversity in monitoring practices and public participation in countries with different political histories. Drawing on in-depth ethnographic studies conducted in Lithuania and Poland, as well as a rapid assessment in Denmark, we have focused on the historical, cultural and social determinants of the volunteers’ participation in biodiversity monitoring. Our results indicate the reasons why volunteer involvement—as an expression of a participatory approach—has a lower incidence in the post-communist countries, compared to voluntarism common in occidental democracies. We discuss our results in the context of the main social factors considered to be a legacy of the Soviet regime. http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/2/9/1130/ Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 CEST Diversity 2010-09-03 2 9 Article 1130 1145 1424-2818 Cultural Diversity Issues in Biodiversity Monitoring—Cases of Lithuania, Poland and Denmark 2010-09-03 doi: 10.3390/d2091130 Deivida Vandzinskaite Hanna Kobierska Dirk S. Schmeller Małgorzata Grodzińska-Jurczak