Abstract
Over the years, rural areas have faced a number of problems and difficulties, such as an increase in the average age of the population, desertification, loss of employment and the abandonment of rural and agricultural activities, which have led to the emergence of new initiatives aimed at revitalizing these territories from a social, economic and environmental perspective, such as the successful Bio-districts or Eco-regions (e.g., Bio-district of Cilento). Understanding and establishing a proper framework for each territory based on agroecology and participatory methodologies is still a challenge. In this sense, based on the analysis of two European examples—Cilento, Italy and São Pedro do Sul, Portugal—we described each of the building processes and defined a set of drivers that might constitute guiding principles to serve as a basis for the creation of Bio-districts or Eco-regions. The drivers’ matrix identified was discussed in three focus groups carried out in Portugal in 2020. Such drivers included a technical and environmental component (the quality of the environment and landscape, the food system and the implementation of organic farming and agroecological practices), a social and economic component (valorization of the farmers, products and territories and a set of different stakeholders—farmers, consumers, schools, tourism entities and restaurants, local authorities) and a political component (the governance model). Most participants agreed that the recognition of a Bio-district or Eco-region should be informal, bottom-up, with farmers as the main pillar, with a fair and representative participation, namely family farmers.
Highlights
In recent years, rural territories have undergone notable changes in terms of transformations in rural areas which have strongly influenced productive, environmental, commercial and even cultural activities and brought new challenges
Of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many are dedicated to solving pertinent problems typical of rural areas: eradicating poverty; ending hunger; guaranteeing decent work and economic growth; ensuring sustainable production and consumption patterns; promoting climate actions; protecting terrestrial life; creating partnerships for the implementation of the mentioned objectives [3,4]
Through this work, we aimed to understand the main drivers that should be considered as guidelines for the creation of the Bio-districts or Eco-regions that are emerging through Europe as solutions to the problems that threaten the rural world and endanger its existence and survival. In this sense, based on the analysis of Cilento Bio-District, Italy and São Pedro do Sul Eco-region, Portugal and on the results of three focus groups organized in Portugal it is possible to propose some ideas to design such guidelines that might be considered for designing future policies and programs to support these initiatives
Summary
Rural territories have undergone notable changes in terms of transformations in rural areas which have strongly influenced productive, environmental, commercial and even cultural activities and brought new challenges. Agriculture is no longer just a productive activity but a dynamic that can promote the development of territories through the integration of numerous services, from food production to consumption, and by enhancing the landscape and associated ecosystem services [1,2]. With this change, there is a change in mentality which includes a growing concern about the agricultural and environmental practices used. With the emergence of these goals, it was possible to associate common themes such as the productive capacity of the agri-food sector, competitiveness, diversity in rural areas in face of new efforts in the conservation of the environment, food safety and quality, nutrition, animal health and welfare, biodiversity and climate change
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