Demographic vitality and human resources as important factors for rural areas development

The heterogeneity and huge regional diversity as key determinant of Slovenian rural areas have not been considered enough in the case of regional development directing. Extensive and multilane questionnaire of case study areas (the survey included 10 selected problem areas) pointed out the most evident development problems and future development opportunities. The latest ought to be respected with the planning and guidance of endogenous regional development. The demographic potential as the basis condition for "realistic planning" is upgraded with the de facto household vitality (i.e. demographic vitality), which enables the most reliable demographic structure review. Various forms of demographic vitality significantly determine the approaches and measures for regional development stimulation. The mentioned are successful only with the simultaneous identification of endogenous resources, stimulation of social capital and human resources as key factors of endogenous development as a whole

Novi pogledi na prehranski sektor in razvoj podeželja

V znanstveni monografiji z naslovom Agri-Food and Rural Development. Sustainable Place-Making (Bloomsbury, Contemporary Food Studies, 2017) Marsden v šestih poglavjih temeljito predstavi preteklo in sedanje razumevanje ter prihodnji razvoj prehranskega sektorja in podeželja. Uvodno poglavje bralca zelo nazorno in temeljito vpelje v tematiko prehrane, prehranskih mrež in prehranske varnosti

Heterogeneous small-scale forest ownership: complexity of management and conflicts of interest

Forest landscape in Slovenia is large and fragmented. The majority of owners (489,000) own only small forest land (less than 5 hectares), which is a result of intensive societal, political and economic changes that have occurred over the last two centuries. Land reforms, old-field succession, impartial inheritance and restitution after 1991 are the main factors that have produced a large number of owners. Since they mainly inherited the forest, they constitute a very broad and heterogeneous group. The small-scale owners, as a specific social group, lack the knowledge, skills and capacity for efficient forest management. They have changed their attitude toward their forest in recent decades and have mostly shifted from production to multi-objective orientation. A three-step approach for theoretical sampling was used to collect variety of qualitative data suitable for Glaser’s (1998) variation of grounded theory. The theory has emerged around three core categories: (1) land fragmentation and co-ownership and (2) demographics and (3) remoteness. We found that land fragmentation builds suspicion and distrust between owners and their willingness to cooperate. The disappearing group of residential owners, often affiliated with agriculture, holds emotional interest to manage the forest although income generation is insignificant. Remote owners are disassociated with their forest and carry almost no forestry activities.Le paysage forestier slovène est à la fois étendu et fragmenté. La majorité des 489 000 propriétaires ne détiennent que des parcelles de moins de 5 ha en raison des bouleversements sociétaux, politiques et économiques survenus ces 2 dernières décennies. Les réformes affectant les sols, les règles de succession, les héritages impartiaux et la restitution après 1991 sont les principaux facteurs expliquant ce taux élevé de propriétaires, qui forment un groupe aussi large qu'hétérogène. Les petits propriétaires en tant que catégorie sociale spécifique, n'ayant ni les connaissances ni les capacités que requiert une bonne gestion de leur propriété, se sont principalement tournés vers une production à objectifs multiples. Sur base d'une approche en trois temps adaptée à la variation de Glaser sur la grounded theory et axée sur 3 catégories primaires (fragmentation du sol et copropriété ; démographie ; isolement), nous avons observé que la fragmentation engendre suspicion et méfiance entre propriétaires, ce qui impacte toute coopération. La catégorie des propriétaires résidentiels, en voie de disparition car principalement liée à l'agriculture, se distingue par un intérêt émotionnel pour la gestion de leurs forêts en dépit d'un gain dérisoire. Les propriétaires isolés n'ont pour leur part pratiquement aucune activité forestière

Foodscape of the Škofja Loka Hills region

The foodscape is the relational space of food provision. This paper examines key building blocks, actors as well as stakeholders of the local foodscape in the Škofja Loka Hills region. Therefore, we applied two research approaches: the food equation and the regional economic cycles. The foodscape in the Škofja Loka Hills region is very heterogeneous from the internal perspective, and homogeneous from the external perspective. It encompassess a range of actors (smaller and bigger farms, processing plants) and stakeholders (cooperative, supportive institutions), some of them are active outside of the functional area and already forming trans-local networks. Based on the analysis of accesible data, semi-structured interviews (N=14) and a focus group we estimate that in Škofja Loka Hills region there is more food produced than consumed

(Dis)amenities as they relate to life and work in rural areas: a field survey through collaborative mapping

Our research focused on the spatial distribution of amenity and disamenity attributes affecting living and working conditions in a demographically and economically dynamic rural area with good transport connections. In this article, the concept of amenity is defined as the quality(-ies)/characteristics of a rural place that make it appealing for people to reside and work in, not only in terms of quantitative aspects but also dependent on individuals’ perceptions. We tested detecting such (dis)amenity attributes in Dežela (the north-western part of the Ljubljana Basin) with two target groups – geography students and local residents, while also comparing the results obtained via classical fieldwork and through collaborative mapping. We found that the responses of geography students and local residents in the study area were generally consistent both in terms of content and location. It would be sensible to take these results into consideration during the preparation of development documents (local development strategy, tourism development strategy). Use of collaborative mapping methods, along with diligent planning and clearly defined goals, enabled us to simplify the data collection process and involve younger portions of the population, who generally are not sufficiently engaged in planning processes

Zeliščarstvo kot poslovna dejavnost na podeželju

V zadnjih dvajsetih letih je zeliščarstvo postalo večfunkcijska proizvodno-storitvena dejavnost, v kateri se prepletajo podjetništvo, tradicionalno znanje, kmetijstvo, varovanje naravnega okolja in sodoben način življenja. Ključni, relativno nov akter slovenskega zeliščarstva, so zeliščarji-podjetniki, ki na tržišče vstopajo z različnim znanjem in trženjskimi pristopi. S kvalitativno analizo polstrukturiranih intervjujev z zeliščarji-podjetniki smo za vsako podjetje izdelali kvalitativni profil in shematiziran prikaz podjetniških in trženjskih značilnosti (raznovrstnost ponudbe, prodajni kanali, možnost za širitev ponudbe, promocija, povezovanje in mreženje ter razpoložljivost delovne sile in vprašanje nasledstva). Le-te so močno odvisne od značilnosti nosilca dejavnosti, in sicer njegove starosti, zaključene formalne stopnje izobrazbe, starosti podjetja in podjetniških izkušenj ter razlogov za ustanovitev podjetja. Za uspešno delovanje zeliščarjev-podjetnikov so ključne njihove povezave z lokalnim in širšim (poslovnim) okoljem

1. svetovni kongres turizma na kmetiji

EURAC Research iz Bolzana je v novembru 2018 privabil dvesto udeležencev iz 42 držav na 1. svetovni kongres o turizmu na kmetiji. Koncept in poimenovanje se med državami zelo razlikujeta: programski odbor se je zato praktično in pogumno odločil uporabiti izraz »agriturizem«, ki ga v slovenščini lahko nadomestimo s »turizmom na kmetiji«. V svetovnem smislu je turizem na kmetiji običajno prepoznan kot oblika nišnega turizma, ki pa ima pomembno vlogo v sodobnih turističnih razvojnih trendih. Ključna značilnost turizma na kmetiji je delujoča kmetija in z njo povezano kmečko gospodinjstvo (običajno večgeneracijsko), saj le-temu omogoča diverzifikacijo dejavnosti in dodaten dohodek na kmetiji. Z različnimi proizvodi in storitvami, ki dosegajo obiskovalce in turiste, lahko kmetija pomembno okrepi marsikdaj skromen dohodek iz osnovne kmetijske dejavnosti. Obenem je turizem na kmetiji širše prepoznan kot primer trajnostnega turizma, ki že leta pridobiva na pomenu

Zelena infrastruktura v praksi

Tudi v letošnjem letu smo na Oddelku za geografijo nadaljevali s tradicijo prirejanja strokovnih srečanj ob Mesecu prostora. Leto 2018 je na prostorskem področju zaznamovala nova prostorska in gradbena zakonodaja (Zakon o urejanju prostora, Gradbeni zakon, Zakon o arhitekturni in inženirski dejavnosti). Zato je Ministrstvo za okolje in prostor za letošnjo temo Meseca prostora predlagalo slogan »Prostor je zakon«. Na Oddelku za geografijo smo z letošnjim Mesecem prostora želeli prispevati k boljšemu poznavanju in razumevanju zelene infrastrukture v praksi. Slednja ima zaradi povezanosti fizične in družbene razsežnosti velik potencial za integracijo različnih raziskovalnih usmeritev znotraj geografije in tudi povezovanja z drugimi strokami

Kako podpreti spremembe in novosti v kmetijstvu?

Za ohranjanje vitalnosti, prožnosti in konkurenčnosti evropskega podeželja je izjemnega pomena delovanje kmetijskega sektorja: le-ta se sooča s premajhnim dotokom mladih in inovativnih kmetijskih praks. Oddelek za geografijo Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani je kot partner v januarju 2018 pričel z izvajanjem štiriletnega projekta NEWBIE (New Entrant netWork: Business models for Innovation, entrepreneurship and resilience in European agriculture)

Poročila

Pregled znanstvenega, strokovnega in pedagoškega dela prof. Franca Lovrenčaka  ob njegovi 80-letnici Ob 550-letnici rojstva kartografa in horografa Pietra Coppa In memoriam Marjan Tkalčič (1949–2020) Vpogled v socialno geografijo Challenges of Tourism Development in Protected Areas of Croatia and Slovenia Routledge International Handbook of Rural Studies Origination. The Geographies of Brands and Branding Brands and Branding Geographie