How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania?
The establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Romania constitutes a turning point for the policy on biodiversity conservation in this country. The presence of human communities in certain Natura 2000 areas determines complex interactions between social and ecological systems, particularly in the c...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Land |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/12/484 |
| _version_ | 1797546062075920384 |
|---|---|
| author | Georgiana Toth Alina Huzui-Stoiculescu Alexandru-Ioan Toth Robert Stoiculescu |
| author_facet | Georgiana Toth Alina Huzui-Stoiculescu Alexandru-Ioan Toth Robert Stoiculescu |
| author_sort | Georgiana Toth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Romania constitutes a turning point for the policy on biodiversity conservation in this country. The presence of human communities in certain Natura 2000 areas determines complex interactions between social and ecological systems, particularly in the case of High Nature Value farmlands that are assigned to this network of protected natural areas. A large part of Romania’s biodiversity depends on traditional farming systems that are under pressure from either agricultural intensification or land abandonment, which reflects socio-economic changes that have pushed rural households into developing new livelihood strategies. This paper explores the particular context of traditional rural communities from Southern Transylvania which is a High Nature Value farmland area largely included in the Natura 2000 network. We conducted an empirical analysis that focused on two main issues. The first was applying quantitative methods aimed at identifying the linkages between livelihood capitals and livelihood strategies of people living in Natura 2000 areas. The second was analyzing differences in local development levels which correlate with the share of territorial administrative units belonging to Natura 2000 areas. Our results are based on questionnaire and interview data collected from 40 rural administrative-territorial units within Southern Transylvania as well as on mapping land use changes using Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2003 and 2015. The results indicate that rural communities living in Natura 2000 areas turn to migration as an additional household strategy besides usual on-farm and off-farm activities, leading to rural shrinkage and farmland abandonment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:23:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e28982c3f541496fa8f618c9ec5fc4bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:23:46Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-e28982c3f541496fa8f618c9ec5fc4bb2023-11-20T23:09:58ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2020-12-0191248410.3390/land9120484How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania?Georgiana Toth0Alina Huzui-Stoiculescu1Alexandru-Ioan Toth2Robert Stoiculescu3Ministry of Public Works, Development and Administration, 050706 Bucharest, RomaniaMinistry of Public Works, Development and Administration, 050706 Bucharest, RomaniaAsociatia Sociometrics-Grupul de Analiză Socială și Economică, 21716 Bucharest, RomaniaIALE Romania, Transdisciplinary Research Centre Landscape-Territory-Information Systems, CeLTIS, 050095 Bucharest, RomaniaThe establishment of the Natura 2000 network in Romania constitutes a turning point for the policy on biodiversity conservation in this country. The presence of human communities in certain Natura 2000 areas determines complex interactions between social and ecological systems, particularly in the case of High Nature Value farmlands that are assigned to this network of protected natural areas. A large part of Romania’s biodiversity depends on traditional farming systems that are under pressure from either agricultural intensification or land abandonment, which reflects socio-economic changes that have pushed rural households into developing new livelihood strategies. This paper explores the particular context of traditional rural communities from Southern Transylvania which is a High Nature Value farmland area largely included in the Natura 2000 network. We conducted an empirical analysis that focused on two main issues. The first was applying quantitative methods aimed at identifying the linkages between livelihood capitals and livelihood strategies of people living in Natura 2000 areas. The second was analyzing differences in local development levels which correlate with the share of territorial administrative units belonging to Natura 2000 areas. Our results are based on questionnaire and interview data collected from 40 rural administrative-territorial units within Southern Transylvania as well as on mapping land use changes using Landsat satellite images of 1985, 2003 and 2015. The results indicate that rural communities living in Natura 2000 areas turn to migration as an additional household strategy besides usual on-farm and off-farm activities, leading to rural shrinkage and farmland abandonment.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/12/484livelihood capitalshigh nature value farmlandpeoples’ livelihood strategies |
| spellingShingle | Georgiana Toth Alina Huzui-Stoiculescu Alexandru-Ioan Toth Robert Stoiculescu How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? Land livelihood capitals high nature value farmland peoples’ livelihood strategies |
| title | How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? |
| title_full | How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? |
| title_fullStr | How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? |
| title_short | How Do Natura 2000 Areas Intersect with Peoples’ Livelihood Strategies in High Nature Value Farmlands in Southern Transylvania? |
| title_sort | how do natura 2000 areas intersect with peoples livelihood strategies in high nature value farmlands in southern transylvania |
| topic | livelihood capitals high nature value farmland peoples’ livelihood strategies |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/9/12/484 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT georgianatoth howdonatura2000areasintersectwithpeopleslivelihoodstrategiesinhighnaturevaluefarmlandsinsoutherntransylvania AT alinahuzuistoiculescu howdonatura2000areasintersectwithpeopleslivelihoodstrategiesinhighnaturevaluefarmlandsinsoutherntransylvania AT alexandruioantoth howdonatura2000areasintersectwithpeopleslivelihoodstrategiesinhighnaturevaluefarmlandsinsoutherntransylvania AT robertstoiculescu howdonatura2000areasintersectwithpeopleslivelihoodstrategiesinhighnaturevaluefarmlandsinsoutherntransylvania |