Combining Demographic and Land-Use Forest Biology, National Research Council, V

Research Article - doi: 10.3832/efor0615-005 ©iForest – Biogeosciences and Forestry

Institute of Agro-environmental and Combining demographic and land-use Forest Biology, National Research Council, v. Marconi 2, I-05010, Porano (TR - Italy). dynamics with local communities @ Andrea Pisanelli perceptions for analyzing socio-ecological ([email protected]) Received: Jul 27, 2011 - Accepted: Apr 24, systems: a case study in a mountain area of 2012 Italy Citation: Pisanelli A, Chiocchini F, Cherubini L, Lauteri M, 2012. Combining demographic and land-use dynamics with local Andrea Pisanelli, Francesca Chiocchini, Lucia Cherubini, Marco Lauteri communities perceptions for analysing socio-ecological systems: a case study in a mountain area of Italy. iForest 5: 163-170 Rural communities are facing increasing social heterogeneity and organization [online 2012-06-25] URL: complexity consequently to land use changes, demographic dynamics and glo- http://www.sisef.it/ iforest/contents? balization processes. Members of the communities should have a direct per- id=efor0615-005 ception of their own territories, recognizing any positive or negative change Communicated by: Paola Mairota that may occur. A better knowledge of these processes may be achieved by investigating local community awareness and perspectives. A research was carried out in a rural and mountainous area of Central Italy with the following immigration from foreign countries is usual- aims: (i) to highlight demographic dynamics and land use changes that affected ly increasing also in remote areas. Therefore, the area during the last decades; (ii) to assess local communities’ perceptions rural communities are facing increasing so- and awareness of their own territories; (iii) to verify and validate a research cial heterogeneity and organization comple- methodology by evaluating the resilience of socio-ecological systems. The xity (Storey 1999). study area involved four municipalities that were analyzed considering the his- A better knowledge of the evolution of torical changes of demographic data and land-use system. A questionnaire was rural areas can be achieved by investigating submitted to a sample of local population. The questionnaire was aimed to in- the local community dynamics and changes vestigate the following issues: (i) level and quality of participation and commu- (Brunori & Rossi 2007) and the needs and nication within the community life; (ii) awareness of environmental resources perspectives of the different social categories of the territories; (iii) socio-cultural opportunities and expectations of future or groups (Pearsson & Westholm 1994). In- changes within the communities. In each municipality, different behaviors and dividuals play an effective role in sustainable needs emerged according to the age of the inhabitants. In spite of that, aware- development: day-by-day choices have a ness of social, cultural and environmental constraints/potentialities emerged in straight influence on the future evolution of all the communities. Communication capability seems a key factor to reinforce our societies (Catenazzo et al. 2008). More- both the social capital and the resilience of the territories. Thus, sharing of ex- over, humans perceive natural and social oc- perience and knowledge could play a major role in developing an efficient go- currences and modify their behavior on the vernance of the occurring territorial changes. Finally, the study highlights that basis of their knowledge and expectations serious efforts should be spent especially to satisfy expectations of young concerning future changes (Young et al. people concerning the territorial development. This latter seems a prerequi- 2006). It is therefore relevant to know the in- site for the maintenance of the system resilience. dividuals’ opinion about any particular as- pect of their territory (problems and poten- Keywords: Participatory Governance, Social Capital, Social Survey, Rural Areas, tial solutions) as well as their likely behavior Resilience under future hypothetical scenarios. Thus, the development of methods and tools suitable to assess how different actors perceive Introduction economy to a modern industrial or services complex systems is necessary (Gasparino et Sustainable management of mountainous economy. On the other side, there has been a al. 2006). and rural areas deals with both ecological contemporaneous increase of both environ- The involvement of local actors in the as- and socio-economic components of the ter- mental and socio-cultural values, associated sessment of their territories is a fundamental ritories. Several international summits and to the rural landscape (Slee 2007). During requisite to implement the participatory go- agreements (the Rio Declaration on Environ- this shift, rural districts have been affected vernance of the communities. This process ment and Development 1992, the Millen- by the combined effect of land use changes, supports the enforcement of a territorial ana- nium Development Goals and the Strategy of demographic dynamics and globalization lysis and helps to identify lines of action that Lisbon 2000) have remarked that develop- processes (Terluin 2003). It is striking, at are in accordance with the needs expressed ment policies must link economic growth present, that livelihood for rural populations by local communities (De Meo et al. 2010). and social welfare with conservation and is not linked to agricultural and forestry re- Participatory governance is increasingly em- sustainable utilization of natural resources. sources. The increasing development of non- phasized as a way to constrast a range of so- Nowadays the economic importance of agricultural activities have greatly contri- cial malaise, including social exclusion and agricultural sector is declining in Western buted to the formation of new rurality in political apathy (United Nations 2008). Europe. Over the last 20 years, rural lands Europe (Kasimis et al. 2010). At the same The present study deals with the concept of have been losing their traditional produc- time, a decline in population and a contem- resilience. Resilience measures the amount tion-based economic importance and have poraneous ageing of residents usually affect of change or disruption required to transform completed their transition from an agrarian rural areas (Thissen et al. 2010). In addition, the maintenance of a system from one set of

© SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ 163 iForest (2012) 5: 163-170 Pisanelli A et al. - iForest 5: 163-170 mutually reinforcing processes and structures to a different set of processes and structures (Anderies et al. 2004, Folke 2006, Adger 2006). Holling (1973) introduced the notion of resilience in ecology science. Se- veral research papers have recently discussed definitions and theories of resilience (Walker et al. 2006). Under a sociological perspective, resilience measures the ability of groups and communities to cope with external stres- ses and disturbances as a result of social, political and environmental changes (Brand & Jax 2007, Adger 2000). The concept of resilience is now used in different research fields for understanding, managing and governing socio-ecological systems (Carpenter et al. 2001). Socio-ecological systems (SES) are complex systems in which humans must be seen as a part of nature (Stockholm Resilience Center 2010). The core of SES concept refers to the as- sumption that human actions and social structures are integrated within the environment and its natural resources (Adger 2006). Currently, researches on resilience mainly focus on the assessment of adaptability and transformability of SES. Adaptability is the collective capacity of the human actors to influence resilience of SES. As the human actions dominate in SES, adaptability of the system is mainly a function of its social com- Fig. 1 - Location of the four municipalities in central Italy: Arsoli and Subiaco in Lazio Re - ponent (the individuals and groups acting to gion (Comunità Montana Valle dell’Aniene); Carsoli and Tagliacozzo in Abruzzo Region manage the system). Transformability refers (Comunità Montana Marsica 1). to the capability to create a fundamentally new system when previous ecological, eco- investigation of local community perception Material and methods nomic, or social (including political) condi- allows understanding and interpreting the tions make the existing system unsustainable dynamics and changes of the territory where Study area, collection and analysis of (Walker et al. 2004). people live. Indeed, it is implied that inhabi- statistical and spatial data This paper investigates four rural com- tants and members of the communities have The study area involved four municipalities munities located in the Apennines mountains a direct and real perception of their own ter- located in two Regions of central Italy: Ar- (central Italy) that are changing due to land ritory, so that they immediately perceive any soli and Subiaco, Lazio Region; Carsoli and use and demographic dynamics. The overall positive or negative change and modifica- Tagliacozzo, Abruzzo Region (Fig. 1). The aim of the study is to assess and compare tion. area reflects a morphology and a landscape these dynamics according to the local com- The specific aims of this study are: typical of inner and mountainous territories munity perceptions. • to highlight demographic dynamics and of central Italy. The study area in its whole is The research adopts an integrated appro- land use changes that affected the territo- relatively close to Rome (about one hour by ach. First, demographic and land use dyna- ries during the last decades; train or car). The city exerts a strong influ- mics over the last decades are analyzed by • to assess local communities’ perceptions ence on the area, especially in terms of job means of a Geographic Information System and awareness concerning some key as- opportunities, services and facilities. (GIS). Second, a social survey is conducted pects of their own territories; The number of inhabitants living in the by submitting a structured questionnaire to a • to verify and validate a research methodo- four municipalities ranges between 1500 sample of local populations of the four mu- logy by understanding and evaluating the (Arsoli) and 9000 (Subiaco). Population nicipalities. This approach assumes that the resilience of socio-ecological systems. density varies from 53 (Carsoli) and 142 (Subiaco) inhabitants km-2. In all the muni- Tab. 1 - Main statistical data of the four municipalities. The investigated areas are classified cipalities the ageing index is higher than the as mountainous territories, with altitude ranging between 326 m and 1737 m a.s.l. The data national average (Tab. 1). refer to the year 2001 (source: National Institute for Statistics 2009). According to the National Institute for Statistics (2009), since the end of the World Parameter Arsoli Subiaco Carsoli Tagliacozzo War II, depopulation phenomena interested the studied area (Fig. 2). The depopulation Territorial area (ha) 1213 6344 9527 8940 decreased at the beginning of ‘80s, when the Inhabitants 1537 9030 5086 6532 number of inhabitants slightly increased in Population density (inhabitants km-2) 126 142 53 73 all the communities, and the trend is still on- Ageing index (national average: 142) 192 162 155 206 going. Carsoli recorded the highest rate of population increment, probably due to the Forest area (% of territorial area) 22 45 43 26 development of the industrial sector together Agricultural area (% of territorial area) 27 31 14 32 iForest (2012) 5: 163-170 164 © SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ Combining demographic and land-use dynamics with local communities perceptions

of territorial presidium were identified (Fig. 3). Carsoli and Subiaco are classified as “areas with severe problems of abandonment”. UAA and human presence declined during the period 1990-2000. Consequently, the traditional territory maintenance and management is currently under decline. Arsoli is classified as a “rural area with low growth”. A stable agricultural activity cha- racterized this territory. Nevertheless, there was a tendency to the abandonment due to a negative balance between immigration and emigration. Tagliacozzo is classified as a “weak rural area”. UAA declined during the period 1990-2000 in this territory. Nevertheless, human presence was stable during the same period. Fig. 2 - Demographic trend in the four municipalities. Following the abandonment recorded after the end of the Second World War, resident population is slightly increasing since the Social survey beginning of ’80s in all the investigated areas. Source: http://www.comuni-italiani.it A structured questionnaire was designed and submitted to a random sample of population living in the four municipalities. The with infrastructures and transport system im- Each municipality belonging to the two questionnaire was organized in different sec- provement. Comunità Montana was analyzed conside- tions dealing with the following thematic is- The investigated territories have a natural ring two parameters: sues: propensity for forestry and agriculture. Ne- • the evolution of the utilized agricultural • general data of the respondents, such as vertheless, the rate of population employed area (UAA) during the period 1990-2000; age, gender, job, distance from working in the agricultural sector is extremely limited • the population dynamics resulting from the place; (less than 2% of the total employed popula- balance between immigration and emigra- • assessment of people participation within tion). The agricultural system is characteri- tion during the period 1990-2000. the community, in terms of quality and zed by small and fragmented farms. Ageing Spatial analysis of these parameters al- level of information dealing with social, is affecting also agricultural sector and most lowed to estimate the “territorial presidium”, cultural or political aspects; sense of be- of the farmers are older than 55 years (IS- according to the conceptual framework of longing to the territories and potential in- MEA 2010). the regional project ANCONAPACO (http:// terest in moving to other places; Statistical and spatial data of the two anconapaco.regione.marche.it/ricerca.htm). • people awareness of environmental resour- Comunità Montana,1 which enclose the four The territorial presidium was applied to es- ces, considering local agroforestry pro- municipalities, were recorded in a Geogra- timate the human attendance to the investi- ducts as tools for development; people per- phic Information System (ArcGIS, ESRI, gated territories. ception of environmental problems and po- Redlands, CA, USA) and analyzed using Considering the whole territories belonging tentialities of their own territory; spatial analysis techniques. to the two Comunità Montana, three classes • people interest in attending cultural and

Fig. 3 - Classification of the territories according to the indicator “territorial presidium”. The indicator is obtained on the basis of the evolution of the incidence of utilised agricultural area (UAA) on the territorial area and considering the balance between immigration and emigration during the period 1990-2000.

social events organized within the territo- Tab. 2 - Description of the resident inhabitants involved in the social survey. Two local con- ries or in adjacent areas; people perception sultants interviewed a random sample of population in each municipality. Young include re- of changes and challenges that are occur- spondents with age between 18 and 35 years. Adult include respondents with age between 36 ring or that are expected to occur. and 65 years. The questionnaire contained both open-ended questions (qualitative data) and close- Parameters Arsoli Subiaco Carsoli Tagliacozzo Overall ended questions (quantitative data). The respondents could answer with free sentences No. of Respondents 100 100 102 100 402 to the open questions; they could answer Male (%) 55 52 42 72 55 “yes”, “no” or “I don’t know” to the close Female (%) 45 48 58 28 45 questions. The interviews were conducted Average age (years) 36 41 37 41 39 face-to-face by two local consultants during Young (%) 54 36 50 40 45 the period September-December 2009. A Adult (%) 46 64 50 60 55 total amount of 402 persons were interviewed, with age ranging between 18 and 65 years. students, with highest percentage in Taglia- to be poor and not properly developed. The data were analyzed in terms of fre- cozzo. Most of the respondents were em- According to the age of the respondents, no quency of answers to each question consi- ployed as public dependents (teachers, pub- evident differences emerged by comparing dering both qualitative and quantitative data. lic officers, medical officers) or as entrepre- the answers of adult and young inhabitants Two age classes were defined: between 18 neurs (running their own business or private about the quality and level of information. and 35 years old (“young”) and between 36- dependents). Unemployed were 5%, workers Only in Subiaco young residents stated that 65 years old (“adult”). One way analysis of were 12% with the highest values in Arsoli communication and information are mani- variance (ANOVA) was performed in order (22%) and Carsoli (18%). About 17% of the festly weak. to detect significant differences of responses respondents commutes every day, with an Considering the entire sample, 61% of the among the four municipalities. The Student’s average commuting distance (Rome was the respondents felt a strong sense of belonging test was also carried out in order to explore most common workplace) ranging between to the their own territories and most of them possible differences between the two age 45 km (Arsoli) and 63 km (Subiaco). Re- highlighted to really appreciate living there. classes within each municipality. Pearson’s spondents affirmed to travel at least 5 days a The favorable climate and the landscape di- correlation coefficient was calculated for as- week, leaving home about 9-10 hours every versity, the local culture and tradition were sessing any correlation among the variables day. deeply appreciated by both adult and young (questions). The Principal Component Ana- people. At the same time, almost half of the lysis (PCA) was applied to visualize diffe- People participation and communica- surveyed people had aspiration to leave the rences among the municipalities and deter- tion tools area where they live, with the highest per- mine the key variables that explain the ob- The results of the questions concerning centage recorded in Tagliacozzo (62%) and served differences. All the computations people participation and communication the lowest in Subiaco (32%). The main rea- were performed using NTSYS-PC version tools within the local communities are repor- sons to move were: the ambition to improve 2.1 and XLSTAT 2010 (http://www.xlstat.- ted in Tab. 3. the job position; the need to implement so- com) software packages. According to the respondents, the inhabi- cial and cultural activities; and, generally, tants get acquainted with social, cultural and the expectation of better opportunities. On Results political aspects of their own community by the contrary, those not intentioned to move means of posters or leaflets, by local journals away showed to appreciate their territory Sample description and by word of mouth. Internet is also quite mainly for the life quality. The average age of the interviewed persons commonly used in all the four municipali- The interest to move away was stronger in was about 39 years; 45% of the sample was ties. young than in adult respondents: overall, the between 18 and 35 years old (young) and About 70% of the respondents declared to proportion of respondents willing to move 55% was between 36 and 65 years old be quite well-informed about the social and away was 71% and 29% for young adult (adult). Males and females represented 55% cultural aspects of their own community; people, respectively. This finding was parti- and 45% of the sample, respectively (Tab. 63% considered the level of information to cularly evident in Tagliacozzo, where more 2). be quite good across the four municipalities. than 90% of the young respondents ex- Most of the interviewed (60%) had a se- Only in Tagliacozzo more than a half of the pressed the willingness to live in other pla- condary school degree and 12% were still sample considered the level of information ces.

Tab. 3 - Participation and quality of communication assessed throughout the social survey (frequency of positive responses to each question). Young and adult categories include respondents with age between 18 and 35 years and between 36 and 65 years, respectively. Sig- nificance of ANOVA analysis between the age classes within each municipality or among the municipalities considering the total sample: (*) = p≤0.05; (**) = p≤0.01.

Arsoli Subiaco Carsoli Tagliacozzo Questions Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total (n=54) (n=46) (n=100) (n=36) (n=64) (n=100) (n=51) (n=51) (n=102) (n=40) (n=60) (n=100) Enough informed 0.81 0.78 0.80 0.61** 0.88 0.78 0.71 0.78 0.75 0.45 0.52 0.49** Good level of communication 0.76 0.63 0.70 0.72 0.72 0.72 0.67 0.71 0.69 0.53 0.37 0.43** Strong identification with the 0.56 0.65 0.60 0.33** 0.86 0.67 0.37** 0.69 0.53 0.50 0.73 0.64 territory Interested to move to other 0.67** 0.35 0.52 0.67** 0.13 0.32** 0.63** 0.31 0.47 0.93** 0.42 0.62** places iForest (2012) 5: 163-170 166 © SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ Combining demographic and land-use dynamics with local communities perceptions

Tab. 4 - Awareness of environmental resources assessed throughout the social survey (frequency of positive responses to each question). Young and adult categories include respondents with age between 18 and 35 years and between 36 and 65 years, respectively. Significance of ANOVA analysis between the age classes within each municipality or among the municipalities considering the total sample: (*) = p≤0.05; (**) = p≤0.01

Arsoli Subiaco Carsoli Tagliacozzo Questions Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total (n=54) (n=46) (n=100) (n=36) (n=64) (n=100) (n=51) (n=51) (n=102) (n=40) (n=60) (n=100) Knowledge of organic 0.85 0.91 0.88 0.75** 0.95 0.88 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.55** 0.87 0.74 products Typical products as a 0.81 0.89 0.85 0.83 0.89 0.87 0.76 0.76 0.76** 0.98 0.98 0.98** development tool Possibility to buy typical 0.56 0.50 0.53 0.78 0.81 0.80** 0.24 0.33 0.28** 0.98 0.98 0.98** products Existence of environmental 0.43 0.33 0.38 0.58 0.41 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.47 0.45* 0.72 0.61** problems in the territory

Awareness of environmental resources conditions, characterizing the uncontami- the Sagra della Fagiolina Arsolana, a local The results of the questions concerning nated but often marginal mountain land- variety of bean, is very popular (Lauteri et local community awareness of environmen- scapes. In all the communities these goods al. 2007). tal resources are reported in Tab. 4. are considered to be a powerful tool to pro- In Tagliacozzo, the respondents declared to Most of the interviewed people showed mote rural development, especially by stimu- appreciate various cultural events regularly great awareness and appreciation about the lating rural tourism. Nevertheless, the pos- organized. For instance, the Festival of environmental value of their territory. sibility to buy these products, according to Cinema and the Midsummer Festival repre- Forests, mountains, natural parks, natural their market accessibility, was perceived sent happenings of national and international caves, and water resources such as lakes and contrastingly among the four communities. relevance. Moreover, in Tagliacozzo other rivers were the most appreciated natural re- particular events are related to organic food. sources of the territories. Nevertheless, 48% Cultural interests and perception of fu- On these occasions interested people can ac- of the respondents affirmed that this natural ture changes quire knowledge, get information and taste richness is threatened by several constraints. The results of the questions related to in- organic products. Thus, the survey high- Arsoli inhabitants, for example, affirmed that habitants’ cultural interests and to people lighted different levels of cultural consumes a quarry represents a major environmental perception of future changes are reported in among the four municipalities, with a greater problem, while residents in Subiaco often Tab. 5. cultural offer in Tagliacozzo. complained about the abundant waste pre- In all the communities, people participation Most of the respondents, especially in Ta- sence along the river. In all the communities in cultural and social events, usually organ- gliacozzo, were also informed about events most of the respondents perceived urban ized by local authorities or private organiza- organized in the neighboring areas. In parti- wastes as a relevant problem. Usually, peo- tions and associations, is usually very large. cular, young people were interested to attend ple addressed to the public authorities the re- A percentage of about 86% of all the re- such events. sponsibility of solving the situation, clai- spondents affirmed that they regularly attend Within all the communities, most of the re- ming for the adoption of appropriate mea- these events, with the highest value in Ta- spondents claimed that attending cultural sures (e.g., waste differentiation and recyc- gliacozzo and the lowest in Subiaco. Ac- events is relatively expensive; however, most ling of urban wastes). cording to the interviews, local parties of them declared their willingness to parti- High quality goods, such as local agro- (called sagra), usually organized in public cipate in highly interesting events when or- forestry products or organic and typical squares or in green areas, resulted to be the ganized. foods, are commonly considered as an ex- most common and popular cultural events in Finally, the questionnaire investigated the pression of specific or unique environmental all the communities. For example, in Arsoli perceived or wished challenges, occurring or

Tab. 5 - Assessment of cultural interest and perception of future changes throughout the social survey (frequency of positive responses to each question). Young and adult categories include respondents with age between 18 and 35 years and between 36 and 65 years, respect - ively. Significance of ANOVA analysis between the age classes within each municipality or among the municipalities considering the total sample: (*) = p≤0.05; (**) = p≤0.01.

Arsoli Subiaco Carsoli Tagliacozzo Questions Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total Young Adults Total (n=54) (n=46) (n=100) (n=36) (n=64) (n=100) (n=51) (n=51) (n=102) (n=40) (n=60) (n=100) Participation in cultural events 0.91 0.80 0.86 0.78 0.67 0.71* 0.84 0.94 0.89 1.0 0.98 0.99** in the community Economic incidence of cultural 0.81 0.63 0.73 0.89 0.66 0.74 1.0** 0.69 0.84 0.93** 0.58 0.72 activities Interest in increasing expenses 0.69 0.72 0.70 0.83 0.86 0.85 0.82 0.69 0.75 0.85* 0.60 0.70 for cultural activities Perception of the need of 0.30 0.26 0.28 0.22 0.13 0.16 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.43 0.62 0.54** challenges in the community

© SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ 167 iForest (2012) 5: 163-170 Pisanelli A et al. - iForest 5: 163-170 expected to occur within the community. cultural lands should favor, for example, a assess the level of adaptive capacity of the Only one third of all the respondents per- better organization of the whole chain of lo- communities (Smit & Wandel 2006) and to ceived the need of challenges, with the ex- cal agroforestry products, by promoting their achieve an effective collaborative manage- ception of Tagliacozzo, where this percep- cultivation within the local farming system ment. At present, such an approach appears tion appeared to be stronger than in the other and by facilitating their market visibility and fundamental for the governance of endan- municipalities. The expected challenges accessibility in order to match the increasing gered socio-ecological systems (Plummer & should be mainly addressed to promote a demand of eco-tourism. Armitage 2007). better use of natural resources, to increase The quality of communication and infor- job opportunities and to organize meeting mation appears to be weaker in Tagliacozzo Conclusions points and events for young people. than in the other investigated territories. The paper aims to provide a tool to read Despite this evidence, the respondents living and dynamically interpret the changes occur- Discussion in Tagliacozzo have the highest level of edu- ring in marginal socio-ecological systems. The retrospective analysis of the evolution cation and cultural interests. This suggests a Recently, social and economic globalization of both demography and land use system relatively greater level of awareness of Ta- has determined an increased flows of goods, highlights the changes affecting the investi- gliacozzo inhabitants concerning their own resources, people, information and ideas all gated areas during the last decades. The territory. Such a consciousness likely stimu- over the world. In western European coun- communities shifted from an economic sys- lates the observed criticism regarding local tries, this process has induced rapid social tem based on traditional and extensive agro- information and management. Furthermore, and economic changes. Besides urban areas, silvo-pastoral practices to a modern society the same consciousness can explain why a such pressures affect also marginal rural constituted by a growing heterogeneity of high percentage of respondents at Taglia- communities. residents. Environmental constraints (such as cozzo wishes or perceives challenges at local The social survey carried out in this re- steep and rocky uplands, poor and shallow level. This also supports the fact that most of search demonstrated that local inhabitants soils) often represent insurmountable obsta- the interviewed people aims to move away. are aware of their own territories in terms of cles for the adoption of modern agricultural This appears to confirm that highly educated social, cultural and environmental con- practices. The socio-economic profiles of the people are prone to leave rural areas (This- straints and potentialities. The small dimen- communities denotes a progressive ageing of sen et al. 2010). Moreover, according to sion of the communities facilitates effective the population and a growing difficulty for Kasimis et al. (2010) the improvement of and soundly social relationships among young generations to satisfy their needs. All education level and life standard increased groups and individuals. The sharing of in- these factors displace the investigated rural youngs’ expectations. Consequently, young formation and knowledge among the actors areas towards marginality with striking aban- generations often intend to look for alterna- of the communities reinforces the social cap- donment phenomena: according to Pinto tive opportunities outside the marginality of ital of the territories. In fact, the results Correia (1993) in marginal lands producti- the studied rural areas. presented here showed that communities vity level is situated close to the margin bey- This study deals with the concept of resili- equipped with communication capability ond which management expenses and risks ence. The participative approach adopted in have also a greater level of information and are not compensated by the profit obtained this research may contribute to identify a knowledge concerning their own territories. with production. strategy for reinforcing the adaptability of The adaptability of the socio-ecological The social survey highlighted that in all the socio-ecological systems. Indeed, economic system is mainly a function of the social communities the young people denote a constraint is recognized to be the driving components of the system (Walker et al. lower integration and sense of belonging to factor for the decline of rural areas, whereas 2004). Thus, in order to manage desired sys- the territory than the adult residents. It seems a sense of belonging to the communities and tem changes, it is fundamental to create fa- that young generations are losing the aware- a strong social participation can mitigate vorable conditions for sharing of experiences ness of traditional culture and knowledge. such decline (McManus et al. 2012). and knowledge among inhabitants. Their feeling with their own territories ap- Finally, this study deals with the manage- Local residents of the four investigated mu- pears to be contrasting: they appreciate and ment of the territory and refers to its gover- nicipalities recognize the high value of the perceive the value of the natural environ- nance. The territorial governance is the abi- territories where they live. In particular, na- ment, but they also denounce the lack of in- lity of public and private stakeholders to tural resources represent the main richness of frastructures and opportunities. These find- build consensus and to define common ob- the territories and local people strongly re- ings appear to be in agreement with other jectives and tasks (Davoudi et al. 2008). Any quire appropriate and sustainable environ- studies showing that the idyllic aspects of action or change aiming to promote rural de- mental management. Inhabitants recognize rural life often co-exist with the image of velopment should take into account prima- also the cultural value of the territories, as rural dull (Rye 2006). In other words, young rily the needs of each group and actor repre- well as the local and popular traditions. people associate the concept of rurality with senting the social capital of the communities However, inhabitants perceive that this those of boredom and lack of opportunities. (Magnani & Struffi 2009). The social capital great value is threatened by several con- The general strong interest in attending so- is emerging as a fundamental tool for under- straints mainly due to a weak management of cio-cultural activities highlights the need to standing the engendering of change. There is the territories: abandonment of traditional implement appropriate events, suitable to general consensus that strengthening social agroforestry practices, lack of green areas, create a favorable conditions for sharing cul- capital may increase the system resilience, waste dispersal, increasing pollution and en- tural experiences. These events should be although this relation is often highly com- vironmental degradation. primarily attractive for young people, as they plex (Wolf et al. 2010). On the other side, Young residents manifest great expecta- manifest a great need to satisfy their cultural any weakness of the social capital may ex- tions in terms of social spaces, better use of interests. plain why change does not occur in the com- natural resources and, particularly, job op- Local inhabitants manifest great awareness munity (Rydin & Holman 2004) and why portunities. The lack of political reaction to of use and management of natural resources. any new effort to pursue economic and so- these main questions could determine, in a Thus, they strongly require the adoption of cial development is lacking (Zekeri 1994). In near future, severe consequences of aban- innovative, environmental-friend technolo- this sense, the analysis of community per- donment, reduction of territorial mainte- gies in agriculture. The management of agri- ception and perspective may contribute to nance, loss of traditional cultures and know-

iForest (2012) 5: 163-170 168 © SISEF http://www.sisef.it/iforest/ Combining demographic and land-use dynamics with local communities perceptions ledge. All this has the potential to depress doi: 10.1007/s10021-001-0045-9 catalogo/20061102_00/ the resilience of the analysed socio-ecologi- Catenazzo G, D’Urso J, Fragnière E (2008). Ele- Pearsson LO, Westholm E (1994). Towards the cal systems. ments of perception regarding sustainable deve- new mosaic of rural regions. European Review Finally, it is expected that the implementa- lopment in Geneva. CRAG - Haute Ecole de of Agricultural Economics 21 (3-4): 409-427. - tion of such kind of studies may furnish the Gestion de Genève. [online] URL: http://ssrn.- doi: 10.1093/erae/21.3-4.409 basic knowledge for promoting an effective com/abstract=1301551. Pinto Correia T (1993). Land abandonment: territorial governance. This latter would rely De Meo I, Ferretti F, Cantiani MG, Cantiani P changes in the land use patterns around the on the capacity to create consensus, common (2010). Participation processes to support forest Mediterranean basin. Options Méditerranéennes objectives and strategies among the different planning: a study case in southern Italy. Proceed- 1 (2): 97-112. actors of the territorial dynamics ings of the Workshop on decision support sys- Plummer R, Armitage D (2007). A resi- tems in sustainable forest management. Lisbon lience-based framework for evaluating adaptive Acknowledgments (Portugal) April 2010. [online] URL: co-management: linking ecology, economics and The research was supported by the Con- http://www.fc.ul.pt/dsfm2010/docs/posters/pa- society in a complex world. Ecological Econo- sorzio Universitario per la Ricerca So- per_50.pdf mics 61: 62-74. - doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006. cioeconomica e per l’Ambiente (CURSA) in Davoudi S, Evans N, Governa F, Santangelo M 09.025 the framework of the project: Speri- (2008). Territorial governance in the making. Rye JF (2006). Rural youths’ images of the rural. mentazione di azioni innovative e attività di Approaches, methodologies, practices. Boletìn Journal of Rural Studies 22: 409-421. - doi: comunicazione e promozione nel campo de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles 46: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2006.01.005 della biodiversità in aree montane margi- 351-355. [online] URL: http://age.ieg.csic.es/ Rydin Y, Holman N (2004). Re-evaluating the nali, funded by the Italian Ministry for the boletin.htm. contribution of social capital in achieving sus- Environment. The authors are in debt with Folke C (2006). Resilience: the emergence of a tainable development. Local Environment 9: 17- the project coordinator, Dr. Stefano Banini, perspective for social-ecological systems ana- 33. - doi: 10.1080/1354983042000199561 Prof. Giuseppe Scarascia Mugnozza for his lyses. Global Environmental Change 16: 253- Slee B (2007). Social indicators of multifunctional convinced support to the study, and with the 267. - doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002 rural land use: the case of forestry in the UK. Ag- local consultants Mr. Emanuele Piacentini Gasparino U, Del Corpo B, Pinelli D (2006). Per- ricultural, Ecosystems and Environment 120: 31- and Mr. Alessio Buzzelli, who successfully ceived diversity of complex environmental sys- 40. - doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2006.03.034 conducted the interviews in the four muni- tems: multidimensional measurement and syn- Smit B, Wandel J (2006). Adaptation, adaptive cipalities. Acknowledgments are also due to thetic indicators. Nota di lavoro 49/2006, capacity and vulnerability. 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