Paper short abstract:

Participatory rural governance implies a broadening of actors involved in the management of rural amenities. At the example of LEADER projects which aim at the reconstruction of cultural landscapes, the epistemological conflifts are highlighted and opportunities for Anthropologists delineated.

Paper long abstract:

Within participatory rural development policies such as the EU programme LEADER, a horizontal broadening of actors involved in arenas of rural development is taking place. Among other objectives, such programmes aim at the valorisation of places and landscapes in processes of heritagisation by reinvigorating bio-cultural heritage, i.e. traditional (ecological) knowledges, land-tenure customs, land use systems and practices.

The presentation draws on empirical material from two LEADER projects in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which aim at the reconstruction of historical cultural landscape elements with the participation of local residents. It explores the epistemological and ontological tensions, which arise by involving residents in landscape management. While nature conservation and institutional landscape management operate at the level of 'species' and 'habitats' and draw on ecological (quantitative) criteria in order to measure the value of landscapes (as 'ecosystems'), lay actors base their value judgements on aesthetic-emotional perceptions and the fulfilment of symbolic needs (e.g. as landscapes of (be-)longing).

The presentation argues for strengthening the role of cultural/social anthropologists and geographers in the management of historical cultural landscapes. Firstly, they can clarify how different ways of contriving 'nature' constitute different objects of concern. Secondly, they can mediate between divergent and conflicting knowledge regimes. Thirdly, in so doing, they can contribute to the construction of multifunctional landscapes, which are not only ecologically functional but als meet aesthetic-symbolical needs as landscapes of (be-)longing.

Paper short abstract:

Climate change has an important influence on specificity of rural development in Eurasian area. A data in a history of climate change and local folk cultural heritage (in Nature using) presenting as a resource for discussing ideas on local rural development.

Paper long abstract:

A history of transformations in using a landscape by humans is difficult, because such history depends on social-cultural factors and local changes in climate and environment. A business in rural sector usually respond acuteness on all of these factors. That has determined special attention to this topic. A goal of this presentation is to determine a business' risks in using a particular landscape in the context of the influence of a specific climate. Attention is given to facts in local history of climate and landscape-using. Extremely hot weather became an especially important factor for society, life and business in the last few decades in the Eurasian area. Extremely hot summer period in West and South Europe and in a Central part of European Russia caused a lot of local human' health problems and problems in agricultural business. A history of local landscape-using includes many facts that document extremely hot periods in these areas in the past. Analysis of data derived from taking measures allow researchers to recommend diversification in landscape-using (in particularly expansion of non-agricultural business and tourism), and also eco-protection activity as prospective keys for reducing risks for a business in a local landscape and also for realizing a model of Sustainable Development for these local areas. Special attention will be paid to local folk heritage in Nature using as an important component for understanding a process of co-evolution of human and nature.

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Paper short abstract:

Our paper examines how different regional polices and strategies - involved in developing new forms of rural activities - are influencing the local community. Our presentation aims also to bring into discussion the potential of cultural ecology as tool for understanding rural economy.

Paper long abstract:

Restoration of pastoralism in Beskid Mountains in XXI century is due to many reasons. The most important among them seem to be a variety of programs and subsidies from European Union as well as different cross-border projects. Our paper examines how different regional polices and strategies - involved in developing new forms of rural activities (transhumance in particular) -are influencing the local community. We are asking: what are the new social relations established with heritagization of pastoralism, who are the social actors and what is their impact on pastoral transhumance practices and narratives. Our presentation aims also to bring into discussion the potential of cultural ecology as tool for understanding rural sustainable development. Anthropologists from University of Silesia are presently conducting ethnographic research in rural communities of Beskid Mountains (especially in Koniaków, Istebna, Wisła villages) regarding economic, political, environmental and cultural settings and trying to develop a complex approach based on cultural ecology.

Paper short abstract:

In the face of serious changes and new contexts, "classic" issues, which I consider folklore and intangible cultural heritage, must be studied in a new way. In my speech I would like to discuss the relationship between climate crisis, rural folklore and intangible cultural heritage.

Paper long abstract:

Folklore, intangible cultural heritage and the climate crisis seem to be spaces too distant from each other to see their relationships and mutual influence. In my opinion this is not and never was true. Folklore is "closely related to the social background, the living conditions and the life of the community itself, and is also a reflection of the living conditions in its content and forms" (Burszta 1987: 126). Poland is a country with economy based on agriculture. Therefore, elements of intangible cultural heritage, that can be found in the Polish ritual year (a traditional cycle of repetitive activities of a specific meaning and importance) are based on human relations with the environment: changing seasons and the agricultural calendar. In my speech, I would like to discuss the relationship between climate crisis and rural folklore and heritage. Do harvest festivals celebrated in September maintain a connection with reality if the harvest ended in July? What about the first spring storms, supposed to "shake the ground" before the beginning of the agricultural season, which take place in winter, or not at all? What will the Corpus Christi floral carpets be made of, if there are no flowers? These are just a few questions that arise when reflecting on folklore and its relationship with the environment. In the face of serious changes, the "classic" issues, which I consider folklore and intangible cultural heritage, must be analysed multidisciplinary. Changes in the world around us cause changes in every area of ​​human life.

Paper short abstract:

Approaching the theme of "aree interne" in contemporary Italy implies facing the gap that exists between the different ways in which European institutions and local economic actors conceive the man-nature relationship. The aim of this study is to analyze the phenomenon from both perspectives.

Paper long abstract:

Approaching the theme of "aree interne" in contemporary Italy implies facing the gap that exists between the different ways in which European institutions and local economic actors conceive the man-nature relationship. The aim of this study is to analyze the phenomenon from both perspectives.

Considering the dynamics through which the relationships between man and nature are built in today's world as an ethnographic topic, we will, first of all, try to restore the historical depth of the evolution of agropastoral work during the last 50 years. We will thus analyze the farm from two distinct perspectives. On the one hand, it is a production unit capable of providing information on the conditions of agropastoral activity, and on the relationships that the related traditional knowledge maintains with the modern world, acknowledged in the regulations required for the production sector. On the other hand, it is an entity which embodies the identity of the social actors involved.

We will then focus on the so-called "Strategia Nazionale per le Aree Interne", on the creation of the dialogue between institutions and social actors, and, finally, as stated in the introduction, on the resulting implications in terms of man-nature relationships.

Paper short abstract:

This paper scrutinizes the persistence of romanticized representation of rural Japan in public policies dealing with rural population crisis. Following ethnographic data, I demonstrate how the discourse is reproduced in public institutions, and resonates with the Crafts Movement in Japan.

Paper long abstract:

Post-war Japan is renowned for its rapid post-war recovery and miraculous economic achievements. But as much as it has been about growth, it has also been about relative 'de-growth' and widening disparities among different regions. In particular, stark rural depopulation has been a grave concern shared in national level. In response, the recent state government has been supporting local governments to enact a 'self-help' resolution; to revitalise regional economy using locally embedded resources. In this course, many local governments in rural areas have been investing in rediscovering the market value of local traditions or crafts works with public grants. However, such optimistic prospects reflected in making ideal representation of rural Japan has to be seen more critically. The enchanted symbolic value of rurality makes invisible the actual problems that people in rural areas are facing everyday.

In this paper, I will critically examine the persistence of romanticized representation of rural Japan in public policies aimed alleviating depopulation in Japan's countryside. Tracing ethnographic context based on a year fieldwork in Tamba Sasayama, Japan, I demonstrate how such discourse is (re)produced in public institutional settings. Also, showing how the current tendency resonates with the Crafts Movement (Mingei Undō) in 1920s and post-war Japan, I will describe how rural romanticization recurs in history. One should look at how all these projects are carved out by different agents with various expectations invested in them.

Paper short abstract:

The phenomenon of heritagizaton has allowed CPIS to be revitalized as well as the appreciation of historical heritage. We intend to demonstrate how the various patrimonialization processes allowed the CPIS tourist dynamism and the development of a predominantly rural territory.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, there has been a growing effort to recover and transform the old pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, such as the Portuguese Inner Way of Santiago (CPIS).

CPIS is a medieval route and is one of the oldest pilgrimage routes in Portugal. It has 205 kilometers in portuguese territory, starting in the city of Viseu and continues through Lamego, Peso da Régua, Vila Real, Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Chaves, being in this locality that crosses the border and travels about 180 kilometers towards Santiago of Compostela. Recently, CPIS has seen a profound revitalization.

Based on fieldwork as a methodological option, we intend to demonstrate the various processes of heritagization triggered, identify who are the different agents and multidisciplinary perspectives involved in this process.

The conversion of CPIS into a tourist route, understood as the main result of heritagization initiatives, allows the development of a mostly rural territory (Balestrieri & Roseman, 2004) and the consequent transformation of this pilgrimage route, as a tourist resource, into a tourist product. Furthermore, it promotes sustainable development based on the promotion and commercialization of endogenous territorial resources (Arcila et al, 2015).

Paper short abstract:

NAHR: An ECO-Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practice presents multidisciplinary research methods, non-formal learning fieldwork, the value of the setting of a non-institutional think-tank; its intellectual positioning as a globally-focused entity within a local, historically rich rural community.

Paper long abstract:

Nature, Art & Habitat Residency (NAHR) located in rural Taleggio Valley, Northern Italy, is a summer multidisciplinary eco-laboratory that cultivates a deep mindfulness about our environment, emphasizing nature's insights as a source of inspiration. The goal is to reveal intimate links between all living organisms and to support resilient development in which humans and nature can successfully coexist.

Each year NAHR focuses on an element of nature: water, woods, rocks, grasses. In 2020 "Animals: Interdependence Between Species" is exploring where and how species intersect in this post-human, post-anthropocentric era. Residents investigate the place of animals in contemporary ecological thinking, addressing questions such as how the human relationship to animals can help arrest the climate crisis, or how humans think of themselves as animals.

The Valley is the context for this non-institutional think-tank focusing on globalized thinking. The location offers a vast eco-canvas for bio-inspired design, art, architecture, theory, and creative writing, developed in alignment with the existing Ecomuseum. NAHR brings to this scarcely populated valley scholars and professionals from all over the world where they spend a month conducting fieldwork, analyzing, studying, and observing its ecosystem. Significant to the residency are daily exchanges with local community, exploring local culture and its rich heritage, particularly its traditions of animal husbandry, cheese production, and other land-based economies.

The presentation will illustrate the value of multidisciplinary research methods, non-formal learning fieldwork, the value of the setting of this think-tank; its intellectual positioning as a globally-focused entity within a local, historically rich rural community.

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed