Alpine cultural landscapes are the result of a long process of social-ecological coevolution, and today face dramatic changes and risks, such as depopulation and abandonment of traditional land use. Some communities seem to adapt better and are benefiting from the changes, compared to others, which are losing their population and identity. Historic collective property institutions and traditional ecological knowledge play a key role. The direction of local development appears to be driven by the interaction of three main forces: culture, multiple-level governance and the local economy. We propose a systems thinking approach to unravel the complexities, highlighting causal connections and interdependency. Focusing on two study areas around Alpine forest-pasture ecotones, where the driving forces mentioned have a major impact, we recognised some general structures that can foster a social learning process by merging different sources of knowledge, promoting advanced understanding of their complexity and better strategies responding to emerging challenges.

Outmigration from rural territories is a worldwide phenomenon that is visible in many mountain regions and creates a perception of a landscape of abandonment. Nonetheless, a counterprocess has also occurred over the past decades of increasing immigration into marginal areas, including mountain areas in Europe. This article compares case studies from mountain municipalities in Austria, Italy, and Romania that have experienced an increase in immigration. Despite their common spatial features, these towns have shown different approaches to managing immigration. This study compared the responses of local communities to immigrants from various backgrounds. Each case study concentrated on the most relevant group of new arrivals in that municipality and provided an analysis of the background conditions and main influences on the integration process. The focus was at the municipality level, supplemented with a broader regional view where possible. The case study in Trentino, Italy, focused on internal migrants wh...

Soane, I. D., R. Scolozzi, A. Gretter, and K. Hubacek. 2012. Exploring panarchy in alpine grasslands: an application of adaptive cycle concepts to the conservation of a cultural landscape. Ecology and Society 17(3): 18. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-05085-170318

Changes in the socio-economic framework that have taken place since the late 1960s have disrupted the multi-centennial balanced models of organisation in mountain communities, leading to a series of challenges in the socio-economical, cultural and environmental spheres. Mountain communities, independently or with the support of local and regional authorities, tried to halt or reverse these processes. In some cases, the effort is not only collective, but the sum of different individuals belonging or related to the community. Processes of social innovation arose sparsely in various alpine territories, and many of them are connected to a novel interest in the primary sector by locals and new residents. The combination of both, but not exclusively, could be considered as generating “new farming”. Authors present two cases identified in the north eastern part of the Italian Alps, which can be associated to this phenomenon. One has been analysed as an external initiative, in which the other authors were involved in supporting ongoing processes. Emerging common elements identified include multi-functionality, new job opportunities and profiles, more substantial social effects and the presence of a series of barriers. At present, actions and projects of social innovation, which are able to anticipate the changes and challenges of the future, seem to be inadequately addressed and deserve attention.

The landscape has been described as a ‘blind spot’ when examined in light of regional strategies. The immense potential of peri-urban and rural hinterlands to counter the climate emergency is therefore also overlooked. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)Climate-KIC’s (Knowledge and Innovation Community) System and sustainable Approach to virTuous interaction of Urban and Rural LaNdscapes (SATURN) aims to address this short-sightedness. The reason why we do not see or value the landscape is complex, but part of the problem relates to its multiple ownership, numerous types and scales of conflicting designations, governance structures, policy requirements, and regulatory frameworks. This leads to an approach that is fragmented and sectoral and, therefore, fails to see the bigger picture or recognise the value that the territory has in order to deal with current environmental challenges. With partners from across Europe, the pan-European Orchestrated Ecosystem research project co-funded by EIT Climate-KIC, SATURN aims to develop new integrated strategies which will increase awareness of the capacity of the landscape, which is seen is seen as a vital way to address the deepening climate emergency. SATURN anticipates that the outputs will build capacity across Europe to help nation-states meet the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and respond to the environmental challenges. This paper, reporting on interim findings, sets out the next phase of the project and concludes with lessons learned so far, including an initial identification of processes that can be applied in regions across Europe and an evaluation of the significance of exchanging knowledge between different countries.