Paper short abstract:

The Italian Western Alpine chain in the last three decades witnessed a considerable process of depopulation, turning these areas into marginal lands. Nevertheless individual agency has recently been implemented in some villages where local cultivations have been reintroduced.

Paper long abstract:

The concept of "sustainable development" or "sustainability" has been and continues to be widely recognized and discussed since the 1960s (see, for instance Meadows 1970, Hawken 1993, Davidson 2005 et al.). A particularly relevant contribution to the debate has been given in the 1990s by Mohar Munasinghe who proposed the "sustainable triangle", arguing that sustainable development requires a balanced and integrated analysis from three main points of view: economic, social and environmental. Munasinghe, together with Roger's redefinition of his "sustainable triangle" represent a starting point for the case-study we would like to illustrate. The Valley of Susa, in the Italian Western Alpine chain, in the last three decades witnessed a considerable process of depopulation, mainly due to urbanization. Recent demographic and anthropological studies have highlighted that the Italian Alps are still a huge out-migration and depopulation area. In this context, the effects on the environment caused by the abandonment of agropastoral practices have extended beyond the local scale, changing landscape characters and cultural traditions and turning these areas into marginal lands, which are mostly unproductive due to soil, climate conditions, landscape features, or other such factors. Nevertheless individual agency has recently been implemented in some villages of the Valley. This is the case of some associations who aim at protecting their landscape but also at revitalizing regional economy through the reintroduction of local and historically documented cultivations such as lavender, hemp and rye. Our paper wishes to illustrate and assess merits and limits of these new sustainable economies.