Les relations des agriculteurs au territoire au travers de la vente directe et de l’accueil à la ferme. Le cas de la région des Monts de Flandre

Le territoire est au géographe ce que le terroir est à l’exploitant, à savoir, son espace de vie, « l’espace concret du quotidien » . Mais territoire et terroir sont aussi des espaces, identitaires et identificatoires, que le géographe et le paysan investissent, produisent et partagent avec leurs pairs et avec d’autres acteurs, chercheurs et usagers. Par la nature de leur fonction originelle, produire des ressources alimentaires, les agriculteurs ont un rapport existentiel à l’espace. Le lien..

Joseph Garnotel, 2014, Au banquet de la nature. Alimentation, agriculture et politiques, Versailles, Quae, 190 pages

« Les questions agricoles et alimentaires sont parties prenantes de pratiquement toutes les problématiques qui font débat à l’échelle du monde » indique pertinemment Joseph Garnotel, en pensant aux enjeux de la souveraineté alimentaire, du changement climatique ou encore de la préservation de l’environnement. Par ailleurs un milliard de paysans pauvres ne travaillent que pour survivre. Les livres au sujet de ces questions de société foisonnent donc, notamment depuis les émeutes de la faim de ..

Les relations des agriculteurs au territoire au travers de la vente directe et de l’accueil à la ferme. Le cas de la région des Monts de Flandre

Le territoire est au géographe ce que le terroir est à l’exploitant, à savoir, son espace de vie, « l’espace concret du quotidien » . Mais territoire et terroir sont aussi des espaces, identitaires et identificatoires, que le géographe et le paysan investissent, produisent et partagent avec leurs pairs et avec d’autres acteurs, chercheurs et usagers. Par la nature de leur fonction originelle, produire des ressources alimentaires, les agriculteurs ont un rapport existentiel à l’espace. Le lien..

The King of the Forest: Local Knowledge About European Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) and Implications for Their Conservation in Contemporary Western Macedonia

From a conservation point of view, Macedonia’s brown bear (Ursus arctos) population appears to be a key link in the distribution of one of Europe’s largest brown bear populations, the Dinaric-Pindos population. The lack of information concerning the bear population in the Republic of Macedonia and bear acceptance by local people inspired us to explore local knowledge and perceptions concerning bears that could be relevant for their conservation. Accordingly, we adopted a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews to determine how the specifi c behaviour and ecology of bears can infl uence, through interactions, local peoples’ knowledge and perceptions. Our results show that due to numerous interactions, the informants’ knowledge appeared to be detailed and consistent, both internally and with existing scientifi c literature about bears. Bear specifi c behaviour allows them to be located, individualised and thus appropriated by villagers, and also to be identifi ed as an alter-ego. For the villagers, the occasional harmfulness of a bear is not the result of a general characteristic of bears in general, but of some individual bear’s behaviour. Finally, bears enjoy a relatively good image as long as local people can react against individuals that cause damage. However, direct or indirect poaching of bears is still a main concern for the Macedonian brown bear’s conservationThe King of the Forest: Local Knowledge About European Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) and Implications for Their Conservation in Contemporary Western MacedoniapublishedVersio

Fear of the unknown: local knowledge and perceptions of the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in western Macedonia

The remnant population of Balkan lynx Lynx lynx martinoi is small, isolated and highly threatened. Since 2006 a conservation project has surveyed its status and promoted its recovery in Albania and Macedonia. Eurasian lynx are often associated with conflicts of an economic or social nature, and their conservation requires a focus on the people sharing the landscape with the species. In this study we adopt methods and conceptual frameworks from anthropology to explore the local knowledge and perceptions of lynx among rural hunters and livestock breeders in the western mountains of the Republic of Macedonia in south-east Europe. The main finding was that local people rarely saw or interacted with lynx. As the level of interactions with this species is very low, the lynx doesn't appear to be a species associated with conflicts in Macedonia. There was also a general lack of both scientific and local knowledge, which has led to somewhat negative attitudes, mainly based on myths and rumours. Poaching of lynx and their prey seem to be the main barriers to lynx conservatio

New insights into the genetic composition and phylogenetic relationship of wolves and dogs in the Iberian Peninsula

This study investigates the gene pool of Portuguese autochthonous dog breeds and their wild counterpart, the Iberian wolf subspecies (Canis lupus signatus), using standard molecular markers. A combination of paternal and maternal molecular markers was used to investigate the genetic composition, genetic differentiation and genetic relationship of native Portuguese dogs and the Iberian wolf. A total of 196 unrelated dogs, including breed and village dogs from Portugal, and other dogs from Spain and North Africa, and 56 Iberian wolves (wild and captive) were analyzed for nuclear markers, namely Y chromosome SNPs, Y chromosome STR loci, autosomal STR loci, and a mitochondrial fragment of the control region I. Our data reveal new variants for the molecular markers and confirm significant genetic differentiation between Iberian wolf and native domestic dogs from Portugal. Based on our sampling, no signs of recent introgression between the two subspecies were detected. Y chromosome data do not reveal genetic differentiation among the analyzed dog breeds, suggesting they share the same patrilineal origin. Moreover, the genetic distinctiveness of the Iberian wolf from other wolf populations is further confirmed with the description of new mtDNA variants for this endemism. Our research also discloses new molecular markers for wolf and dog subspecies assignment, which might become particularly relevant in the case of forensic or noninvasive genetic studies. The Iberian wolf represents a relic of the once widespread wolf population in Europe and our study reveals that it is a reservoir of unique genetic diversity of the grey wolf, Canis lupus. These results stress the need for conservation plans that will guarantee the sustainability of this threatened top predator in Iberia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Of the importance of a leaf: the ethnobotany of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans

BACKGROUND: Sarma - cooked leaves rolled around a filling made from rice and/or minced meat, possibly vegetables and seasoning plants - represents one of the most widespread feasting dishes of the Middle Eastern and South-Eastern European cuisines. Although cabbage and grape vine sarma is well-known worldwide, the use of alternative plant leaves remains largely unexplored. The aim of this research was to document all of the botanical taxa whose leaves are used for preparing sarma in the folk cuisines of Turkey and the Balkans. Methods: Field studies were conducted during broader ethnobotanical surveys, as well as during ad-hoc investigations between the years 2011 and 2014 that included diverse rural communities in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey. Primary ethnobotanical and folkloric literatures in each country were also considered. Results: Eighty-seven botanical taxa, mainly wild, belonging to 50 genera and 27 families, were found to represent the bio-cultural heritage of sarma in Turkey and the Balkans. The greatest plant biodiversity in sarma was found in Turkey and, to less extent, in Bulgaria and Romania. The most commonly used leaves for preparing sarma were those of cabbage (both fresh and lacto-fermented), grape vine, beet, dock, sorrel, horseradish, lime tree, bean, and spinach. In a few cases, the leaves of endemic species (Centaurea haradjianii, Rumex gracilescens, and R. olympicus in Turkey) were recorded. Other uncommon sarma preparations were based on lightly toxic taxa, such as potato leaves in NE Albania, leaves of Arum, Convolvulus, and Smilax species in Turkey, of Phytolacca americana in Macedonia, and of Tussilago farfara in diverse countries. Moreover, the use of leaves of the introduced species Reynoutria japonica in Romania, Colocasia esculenta in Turkey, and Phytolacca americana in Macedonia shows the dynamic nature of folk cuisines. Conclusion: The rich ethnobotanical diversity of sarma confirms the urgent need to record folk culinary plant knowledge. The results presented here can be implemented into initiatives aimed at re-evaluating folk cuisines and niche food markets based on local neglected ingredients, and possibly also to foster trajectories of the avant-garde cuisines inspired by ethnobotanical knowledge