Rural areas

This document explores the gender dimensions of cultural practices in the Dehesa region of Spain. Specifically, the report examines the roles, responsibilities, constraints, and opportunities for women pastoralists and women involved in the wool industry.

This document provides a review of existing literature around women’s roles in local economies, cultural preservation and environmental conservation in the Mediterranean Basin. The paper further identifies data gaps and economic opportunities to support cultural practices in the region’s cultural landscapes.

In der Landschaft Mitteleuropas unterliegen fast alle Flächen einer regelmässigen Nutzung, Pflege oder Gestaltung durch den Menschen. Dies trifft auch für die meisten unter Naturschutz stehenden Areale zu, die dem Erhalt bestimmter Kulturlandschaftsformen dienen. Um wilde, ungelenkte Natur zu erleben, muss man Nationalparks aufsuchen, in denen sich Wildnis - in Mitteleuropa meist Sekundärwildnis - auf einigen Tausend Hektaren ausdehnen kann.

Both livelihoods and diversity have become popular topics in development studies. The livelihood concept offers a more complete picture of the complexities of making a living in rural areas of low income countries than terms formerly considered adequate, such as subsistence, incomes, or employment.

While some argue that trade liberalization has raised incomes and led to environmental protection in developing countries, others claim that it generates neither poverty reduction nor sustainability. The detailed case studies in this book demonstrate that neither interpretation is correct, given how much depends on specific policies and institutions that determine ‘on-the-ground’ outcomes.

During the past several years, biofuels in rich countries have come to be regarded as an important option for reducing consumption of petroleum, which is a main policy goal as a result of recent high oil prices, energy security concerns, and global climate change. The use and development of alternative sources of energy are increasingly encouraged in western countries, and private and public sources of financial support for biofuels development have increased greatly.