Making a living: Grassroots development initiatives, natural resource management and institutional support in Galicia, Spain

García María, Swagemakers Paul, Bock Bettina and Fernández Xavier
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García María: Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidade de Vigo
Swagemakers Paul: Leerstoergroep Rurale Sociologie, Wageningen Universiteit
Bock Bettina: Leerstoergroep Rurale Sociologie, Wageningen Universiteit
Fernández Xavier: Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidade de Vigo

European Countryside, 2012, vol. 4, issue 1, 17-30

Abstract: European policy increasingly supports territorially based rural development in which local actors play a decisive role in realising economically, socially and ecologically responsible development. This paper makes use of four case-studies, from a largely depopulated mountainous area in Galicia, Spain, where local people strive to combine the creation of new businesses with the revitalisation of the natural resource base. The paper, in analysing local knowledge infrastructure and its interface with policy, reveals the dominant role of grassroots development initiatives in effecting regional learning and capacity building. Further it is acknowledged that in Galicia progress is brokered in practice by individual stakeholders who manage structural constraints, cross boundaries and construct new cross-cutting, bridging networks. It is also apparent that these niche-actors constitute a largely untapped reservoir of knowledge brokers that could be used much more effectively if more direct cooperation with policymakers and the existing knowledge infrastructure could be achieved.

Keywords: EU support schemes; endogenous knowledge; interface analysis; natural resource management; rural development; rural economy; transition processes; EU support schemes; endogenous knowledge; interface analysis; natural resource management; rural development; rural economy; transition processes; programas de apoyo europeo; conocimiento endógeno; análisis de interfaces; manejo de recursos naturales; desarrollo rural; economía rural; procesos de transición (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vrs:eurcou:v:4:y:2012:i:1:p:17-30:n:2

DOI: 10.2478/v10091-012-0011-x

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