Land Abandonment in Mountain Areas of the EU: An Inevitable Side Effect of Farming Modernization and Neglected Threat to Sustainable Land Use

Thomas Dax, Karin Schroll, Ingrid Machold, Martyna Derszniak-Noirjean, Bernd Schuh and Mailin Gaupp-Berghausen
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Karin Schroll: Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics, Rural and Mountain Research (BAB), Dietrichgasse 27, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Ingrid Machold: Federal Institute of Agricultural Economics, Rural and Mountain Research (BAB), Dietrichgasse 27, A-1030 Vienna, Austria
Martyna Derszniak-Noirjean: Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR), Franz-Josefs-Kai 27, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Bernd Schuh: Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR), Franz-Josefs-Kai 27, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Mailin Gaupp-Berghausen: Austrian Institute for Regional Studies (ÖIR), Franz-Josefs-Kai 27, A-1010 Vienna, Austria

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: In a period of rising concern for sustainable land management systems to achieve food security at a global scale, land-use changes demand increased attention. This study assesses the past observations and future risk calculations for land abandonment across European regions, highlighting the particular risk for mountain areas. It draws from a study commissioned by the European Parliament to investigate the situation and probability for high and very high risk of land abandonment until 2030. Revealing that land abandonment is at three times higher risk in mountain areas than in non-mountain areas, the need for action to cope with this pressure is the core result. We reveal that the high disparity in agricultural competitiveness between regions (at fine geographical scale) is the main driving force leading to the spatially uneven performance of land management. Viewing this wide set of drivers and mitigation options, land abandonment is understood as the outcome of a multitude of factors of socio-ecological systems and a combination of farm-specific, internal regional and trans-regional factors. The present dominance of narratives of effectiveness leaves little scope for mountain regions under threat of abandonment and marginalization. In this situation, policy reform would address the issue but this might turn out to be influential only if the complex nature and trade-off of the comprehensive policy framework are prioritized.

Keywords: land-use change; land management; spatial effects; small-scale context; socio-economic drivers; policy assessment; CAP; policy trade-offs; mitigation policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:6:p:591-:d:568190

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