Land Abandonment in the Swiss Alps: A New Understanding of a Land-Use Problem

Abstract

The abandonment of agricultural land is a serious problem in mountainous regions. Most common is the belief that abandoned land is a visible expression of depopulation. This paper emphasizes another explanation: the problem is caused mainly by the fact that groups of the local population resist a change of traditional structures to meet the needs of a modern farming society. First, research investigations in the Swiss Alps show that there is little evidence of land abandonment in those regions where this resistance to an appropriate use of land resources is either non-existent or already broken. Land abandonment is a transitional phenomenon. Secondly, a dialectical analysis explains that this resistance has the most powerful impact on discussions about changes in the land-use system and that it comes from those people who are either content with the traditional rural structure or who have lost interest in farming. The persistent maintenance of tradition leads to the abandonment of much of the cultivated area. This analysis concludes that resistance to change is based on logical motives which must be taken seriously; these are an orientation towards traditional values as well as an unwillingness to lose control over land ownership. It is suggested that planning policies should take into account the motives behind the resistance to change and integrate them into the resource management process.