Mediterranean landscapes between production, consumption and protection goals: new paradigms for management and new challenges for research

Abstract

Rural landscapes in the Mediterranean are still to a large extent maintained through farm systems which have been maintained close to the traditional systems: large scale extensive silvo-pastoral systems and small scale mosaics combining permanent and annual cultures. These landscapes are today valued not only for their production, but increasingly also for their role as providers of multiple landscape services, related both with nature conservation and environmental quality, and with the recreation, quality of living and aesthetical appreciation. There is thus an increasingly interaction between three sets of drivers of change in these landscapes: production, consumption and protection. New tensions emerge, which are often reflected in mismatches between landscape functions and the landscape structure. The understanding of the interaction of different drivers, and the way they affect landscape structure and landscape management, calls for new research approaches, where combined methods are applied. By this, new insights are created that may also support strategy making and decisions to be taken at different governance scales. Presenting a case-study in Montemor-o-Novo, a small town 100 km from Lisbon, Portugal, we will unfold the processes affecting rural landscapes in the Mediterranean, and propose approaches that can support their analysis. We will also discuss new challenges for management and how novel and integrative research can support decision making at different governance scales.