MEDIT N° 112000
PEASANT AGRICULTURE AND PART-TIME FARMING:
USE OF RESOURCES AND LANDSCAPE EFFECTS
IN A RURAL AREA OF SOUTHERN ITALY
GIOVANNI QUARANTA - ROSANNA SALVIA (*)
1. INTRODUCTION
The analysis of the factors
influencing the decisions of
the economic operators that
use the territory as a fundamental resource, seems a
good point to start for any
study finalized to understand the dynamics of the
landscape.
In the rural areas, where
the agriculture still has a
prevalent role in economic
terms, big responsibility in
maintaining the landscape
is attributed to the "farmers." It become fundamental, therefore, to know the
main variables able to condition the choices operated
by these figures in terms of
land use and utilization of
the territory in general.
The name "farmers", in reality, defines a series of relationships between management and ownership of
the resources, which could
have great importance in
the studies on the preservation of the environment.
In the V.E., during the last
decades, these relationships
have changed, carrying out
the consolidation of two
main types of farm organization: the capitalistic farms
and the family-farms.
As it is known, the first is a
farm managed very much
as a typical industrial firm,
where the entrepreneur
buy on the market all the
necessary inputs (included
the land or the use of it)
In many regions peasant farm households are disappearing under so- and sell all the economic
cio-economic forces, their destine is either to become landless or
holdings, but in southern Europe more often they are relatively stable outputs.
or became part-time farms. Great importance in the intensity of use of These farms, that represent
resources is attributed to the relation between the ownership of the a very small part of the total
land and its management. The paper objective is to inquire which are
the effects of land property and management on the attitude toward European farms, usually mathe rural landscape. The study is an empirical work conducted in a nage large amount of land
rural area of Southern Italy. In this context two main typologies are and their behaviour is guiddelineated: the traditional peasant household and the part-time farms.
The figure of the traditional peasant is typically associated, in this con- ed by the maximization of
text, to a poor marginal agriculture. Therefore, agricultural activity, in farm profit.
that it is the only source of income for the family, is substantially like The prevailing form of farm
a kind of continuous "robbery" that determines the accentuation of the
environmental degradation already broadly diffused in these areas. organization in Europe and
Unexpectedly the part-time farming better guarantees the control of in many countries all arothe territory in terms of resource preservation. The results seem to und the world is, instead, a
confirm that the most discriminating variable, able to influence the attypical family-farm, which,
titude toward a preserved rural landscape, is not the relationship that
intervenes between the ownership and the management of the land. very often, owns the land
On the contrary, the level of wealth of whoever manage the land, as- and where the family comsumes greater importance in this context. In order to guarantee the
ponents mainly work into
social and economic vitality and to promote the development of this
type of rural areas, is necessary to activate a network of complemen- the farm or, non rarely, outtary agricultural activity.
side.
Among the family-farms we
can distinguish (cfr. Ellis,
RESUME
1992) a peasant farm and a
En nombreuses regions, lesJamilles mrales vont auJuret a mesure dis- more modern family-farm,
paraitre sous I'action desJorces socio-economiques; leur destin est celu; de devenir des sans-terre ou sans-propriete mais en Europe du Sud, also called part-time familyelles sontle plus souvent relativement stables ou praliquent I'agricultu- farm or piu ri-active familyre a temps parliel. Vne grande importance dans l'intensUe d'utilisation farm. The latest is completedes ressources est allribuee aux relations entre la propriete et la gestion
ly integrated in the inputs
de la terre. Ce travail vise a rechercber que/s solll les effets de la propriete et de la gestion des terres sur le paysage mral. Cetle etude estlw and outputs markets, espetravail empirique mene dans une zone mrale du Slid d'Italie. Dans ce cially in the labour market,
contexte, deux typologies principales ont ete identijiees: la Jamille paywhere it participate as supsanne traditionnelle et le paysan a temps partiel. La figure du paysan
tradilionnel est typ;quement associee cl une agriculture marginale plier and as demander.
pauvre. Donc, I'activite agricole, en lant que seu/e source de revenue Many family-farms belongpour la Jamille est, pour ainsi dire, un "vo/" qui accenlue la degradaing to this typology, in fact,
tion environnementale deja grandement diffuse dans ces zones.
L'agriculture cl temps partiel semble mieux garantir le controle du ter- have components working
ritoire en lermes de COllseroalion de la ressollrce. Les resultals semblent in other sectors, while the
conJirmer que la variable la plus discriminante, capable d'inj1uencer
I'anitude vis-a-vis d'un paysage roral preseroe, 11 'est pas la relation qui agricultural activity repreinteroienl entre la propriete et la geslion de la terre. Au conlraire, le n i- sents just income integraveau de richesse de quiconque gere la terre revet une plus grande im- tion. On the contrary, the
porlance dans ce contexte.
traditional peasant farm is a
family-farm only partially
integrated in the markets. In
this
case
the
decision
to
work
only into the farm de(-) University of Basilicata - Italy.
pends both by the characteristics of the family compoResearch partially funded by EU DG XII, MEDALUS III Project. The authors
shared the general approach of the work, even though each paragraph is
nents (age, sex, education level, etc) and by labour
to be attributed as following: Quaranta for the paragraphs 1. 4 e 5 and
market condition (demand side). The small dimension
Salvia for paragraphs 2 and 3.
ABSTRACT
41
MEDIT
:-'; 0
1/2000
middle a nd uppe r va lley to lower, and e xtra-regio nal
and the low quantity of ca pita l pe r work-units typ ically
associated to the peasant farm , strongly influence ilS
movements have contributed to create the present situ-
productive cho ices, pushing the m to intensive cro pping
syste m and la bo ur inte nsive activities. The famil y-farms
complete ly integrated in the marke t usually adopt cropping system characte rized by inte nsive use of capital
and more exte nsive use o f labo ur. These two preva iling
forms are in a kind o f dynamic eq uilibrium, influe nced
by the econo mic and de mogra phic characte ristics o f the
family a nd , above a ll, by the characte ristics o f the context, i.e. by the possibilities, fo r the me mbe rs o f the
fami ly, to find occupatio n in the local labour market.
Considering o nly the famil y-fa rms, that represent by far
the most impo rtant fo rm of farm o rga ni zatio n in Italy,
the objective o f the study is to verify which fo rm o f
manageme nt is mo re sensitive to the rural landsca pe
and to the e nviro nmental prob le ms in gene ral. In particular the study atte mpts to clarify if the new for ms o f
fa rm orga ni za ti o n, that take p lace o f th e traditi o nal
atio n. Many muniCipa lities, in fa ct, have re duced their
populatio n by half it was fo rty years ago, and some othe rs do ubled the ir res id e nts. An othe r conseque nce of
these po pulation move me nts, is th e d e mograp hi c
fragility and impoverishme nt that is ve ry serio us for a
la rge pa rt o f the study a rea . Taking as an exa mple the
e lde rl y index, calculated as the ratio between the reside nt po pulation over 65 years o ld a nd the population
unde r 6 yea rs o ld , we can find many villages made up
o nly by o ld pe nsio ne d peop le (see figure 1) . In fa ct,
this index goes from a n extre me o f mo re than 1.000 to
less tha n 100 in the lower va lley. The econo mi c fragility o f the area is also confirmed by the fa ct that the prima ry secto r absorbs a ro und o ne third o f the total working po pulatio n, value decid edl y re markable and four
times highe r tha n the co rresponde nt nati o nal va lu e .
The most substantia l fractio n o f the a ctive po pulation
(43%) works in the services, that fo r the area mean public serva nts . The last Ge ne ral Agricultura l Census (990)
ide ntifies 15,520 farms, which were a lmost as much as
ten years before . These farms conduct 173 ,300 hectares
o f cro pping area , with an average size o f 11 hectares .
The distributio n of land by size illustrates a ty pical poor
agriculture structure: in fa ct the two th ird of the farm ers
peasa nt farms, are more or less sensitive to the rural
landscape respect to the fo rme r.
2. TH E STUDY AREA
The study has been conducte d in Basilicata, a sma ll regio n of Southe rn Ita ly, in a n a rea a bout 1,700 km', representing the 200/0 of the regional territolY . This area has
been inte rested by many resea rch activities finan ced by
the Environme nt Divisio n of the U.E. (DGXI[)('). This
area can easily divided in three ho mogeno us sub-a reas,
bo th from a phys ica l-en viro nme nta l and ag ro no mic
poi nt of view, a nd fro m a socio-econo mic a nd de mo-
mana ge fa rm s ha ving an average size aro und 2.5
hectares . It emerges, in this way, a rea lity marked by a
d e pth stru ctura l du a li sm that has no t s howed a ny
change in the course o f the last fifty yea rs and no inte rventio n of Agricultura l Po licy has succeeded to modify.
The fa rms less than two hectares re present, however,
an impo rta nt e le me nt o f the a rea as well as fo r many
othe r p laces in Italy. Th ey re present the de mo nstratio n
of both an invelted exodus that fo r many yea rs has induced the people to prefe r the rural areas to the urban
a reas and cultural he ritage o n the posses o f la nd(') . The
graphiC characteri stics one, as well as the prod uction
activity perfo rmed: coming from the mountain to the
see the uppe r, the middle and lower valley. According
to the last Po pulatio n Census (1991) the numbe r o f reside nt units in the area was abo ut 100,000. In the last
forty years the population of the a rea as a whole was a lmost constant, but the dynam ics of
the three areas has been ve lY diffe re nt. In fa ct, res ide nts have decreased in the middle valley bringing the po pulatio n to 32 pe r km',
w hile they have increased in th e
lower va lley up to 72 pe r km' , even
though these va lues re main muc h
less than the Italia n va lue (90) . The
most impo rta nt facto r dete rmining
this patte rn is th e migrati o n pheno menon which has inte reste d the
total area. Bo th intra-Baci ll , fro m
(I) Among the o thers: Meda lus and Med imont
projects.
(I) The phenomenon, for il"s evident im pl ication
on economic, soci:ll :tn environment al conditions,
needs much morc :lIlcnt ion ;lOd would requi re a
s pecifi c s tudy.
Elderness index (%)
93
-
249
249
34 1
34 1
457
4S7
1138
Figllre I - '/1)e elderly indeX/Or/be slIIdyarca j" 199 1.
42
MEDIT N° 112000
quality of the resources, both environmental and human, available in this area allows, almost exclusively, a
marginal traditional agriculture. Agri-environmental
conditions are such that the safeguard of the landscape
strictly coincides with the maintenance of the agricultural activity. In fact, the zone has a delicate environmental equilibrium, almost deprived of natural vegetation, where the presence of the man causes positive effects on the landscape when the use of the resources is
rather extensive. On the contrary, a too much intensive
use of the resources that in this area coincides with
grain cultivation translates in negative effects on the environment and on the landscape.
3.
tivity and sell part of the own labour force in other sectors.
4.
ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
The first analysis on the two groups of farms shows results according to which the family-farms not peasant
have made a better adhesion, in terms of total land involved, to the agri-environmental measures (Regg. CEE
2078/92e) and 2080/92(1)). The apparent anomaly of
this result resides on the fact that does not confirm the
role, for a long time accredited only to the peasant family-farm as unique type of farm organization that takes
care and safeguard the rural landscape. The coincidence between farm center and house of the family as
well as the presence of labour surplus respect to the
farm needs that can be used in "maintenance" of the
territory, have always considered the peasant farm as
having an effect on the rural landscape. It seems reasonable, interpreting this result as a better information
available to the family that is integrated and works in
other sectors. At the same time this result came also
from the mostly extensive character of the agriculture
operated by this type of farms that better fit their needs.
It is resulted, therefore, obvious to investigate on the
possibility that other elements should influence the
farm decisions regards to the management of the territory. A retrospective analysis, of historical farm behaviour (averages of the last years) on land use by the two
farm typologies has been performed. This also to assess
the attitude towards the landscape not only as regards
the new tendencies emerged in the last years, but as
usually behaviour characterizing the agricultural activity
of these farms. To such purpose, for each farm, a specific index has been elaborated: LCI (Landscape crop
index). This index is constructed as ratio between the
land destined to crops whose cultivation causes positive effects on the environment and on the rural landscape and the total farm land:
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
Since the available data from the official statistic are not
sufficient to answer the objective of the study, it has
been essential to collect information directly by the
family-farms. A representative sample of family-farms
has been selected. From the total, for the reasons above
mentioned, the farms that have total agricultural land
less than 2 hectares have not been considered. Since
the limited variability of the population regards to the
structural parameters of the farms and regards the demographic characteristics of the families, from the statistical point of view can be considered sufficient a sample dimension of 1.5-2% of the whole population.
The sample, randomly selected, is constituted by 154
family-farms.
The agricultural land, managed by the farm directly inquired, usually dry, destined for the 700/0 to cereal production, while pasture and arboreal crops utilize the
rest of land. The arboreal crops more representative are
olive-trees, vineyard and citrus. Therefore crops that
can be considered fundamental to safeguard the landscape of that area and the environment interest less
than 50% of the whole sampled agricultural land. More
than half of the inquired family-farms practices goats,
sheep and cattle breeding. As for the total farm population the farmers of the sample are prevalently male, of
middle age to around 50 years, with a level of formal
school of 7 years and their families have usually 4 components. The family-farms of the sample have been
then grouped in homogeneous groups, using the technique of the cluster analysis. In order to classify the
family-farms the variables that define the relationships
between labour, management and ownership of the
land, have been chosen as discriminating variables.
The procedure identifies rather clearly two typologies
of prevailing family-farms in the study area: the typical
peasant family farm and the family farm that we can define not peasant. The first family typology, in fact, is little integrated in the labour market and lives prevalently
in the farm. The second, instead, is tightly connected to
the labour market from both sides: as supplier and as
hired. The farm, in fact, hire labour for agricultural ac-
Woodland + meadows and pasture land +
+ vineyards + olive trees
LC/=
total agricultural land
(-') The Reg. 2078 constitutes a form of voluntary and conditioned support in
base to which the producers sell some rights on the custom of the natural resources in change of a compensation for a lack of income. Measures of Reg.
CE 2078/92:
A Sensitive reduction of chemicals and fertilizers, maintenance of the reductions already effected, introduction of the methods of organic agriculture;
B Promoting or maintenance of the extensive production already on its way;
C Reduction of the density of the bovine and ovine per hectare;
o Employs of other echo-compatible methods, care of the rural space and of
the landscape, breeding of animal kind in by of extinction;
E Care of the agricultural and forests land abandoned;
F Long stay (20 years) Set-aside;
G Correct management of the land for public and recreational use.
(I) The Reg. CEE 2080/92 promotes: A Re-forestation of agricultural lands; B
improvement of the forest existing patrimony.
43
MED IT N° 1 2000
meaningful distance co nditio ns notably th e residual
ava ilability time to destine in farm labo ur and pushing
This index includes values fro m zero (maximum negative effect) to o ne (ma ximum positive effect).
The unequivoca l landsca pe va lu e, beyond the advan-
toward cropping systenl more extensive. The family in-
tages caused o n the stabili ty of the soil has bro ught to
incl ude the wood , the pastures and the perma ne nt
meadows between the land use having a positive effect.
The vineyards and the o lives trees have considered, instead , because they are the mosl typical ex pressio n of
the Mediterranean landscape and because their cultivation causes a lo w impact o n the land .
It is possible to compare, the n looking the LCI index
farm behavio urs respectful of the landscape and of the
comes have been the n assessed jo intly to the LCI, fo r
each famil y- farms.
The figures 2 and 3 shown a g raphic re prese ntatio n fo r
the two family-farms groups.
It is evident that fo r both the ty pology ex ists a direct
correlmio n of these two indicators: as the fam ily income
increase so do the po rtio n of the farm land destined to
culti vatio ns that bette r fit the desirable landsca pe .
In other words the richer family-farm s are mo re sensi-
environment in both the homoge-
neous gro ups of famil y-farms.
Th e index shown a mea n valu e
,.• r - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -- - -- - - - ,
equal to 0.3 fo r both gro ups. This
result, therefore, has brought clearly
in evidence that th e type o f manageme nt of the firm could no t be
considered as the key variable, a ble
to ex pla in the attitude towards the
landsca pe problems but there w ill
be othe r facto rs able to drive the
•
market characteristics. It has bee n
also considered the distance and the
time occurring fro m the farm to the
work place fo r the notable refl exes
that thi s ma y have on the farm activity. It is, in fact, evid ent (har a
..-~--~~~-------__1
" t--~---~~
•
.. t---.".~-~L--~~~-----------~
farm decisions.
This cons iderati o n has pu shed to
find new va riable that could better
explain the correct interpretatio n of
the farm behaviOUr.
Amo ng these the econo mic variables have been considered as, in
particular, incomes o f the famil yfarms have been chosen. To such
pu rpose budgets of the single fa mily-farms have bee n elabo rated considering the incomes coming from
the farm activity and those coming
from out-farm labo ur activity.
The farm incomes are strictly related
to the cropping system, wh ich depe nds by the nature and by the
quality of the avai labl e reso urces
and by the level of market integration.
Th e famil y incomes coming fro m
o ut-farm actiVity have been e labo1: lted o n the base of gathered info rmatio n and by the level of sec/oral
retributio n.
They tightly depe nd by the age, by
the educatio n leve l, by the labo ur
...
" t---------------------~,-~
•
•
·· t-----7~~~-~-------------~
02
•
LC.!.
...
--
Unea •• (I..CJ.1
Fig lHOC 2 - I. e l (/Ilfl}f/lJli{)' iJlcome ill/)(!lISlIlIl!a/lli(I,jarms.
" y--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - --,
~-.----.-"7''''/~------.---1
....
./
•
. 'y
•.. +--------•..=
: ..
~
0.6
..
+ - - - - - - ---,......,-- - 7 " ' ' ' ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1
~~:
.
•• /
. / :.
~ ,....
•
•
'.' t---------:;:;Plf-'~"---~---=----------l
02
~"~-------------------__1
+---7.t
~.
. ~-~j~--~.-----------------------------------~
•
'"
"
• LO.'.
--
- ~."'L~'.I
':igllrc3 - I.C/ul/(l julllifyillcOlllcillplllli-OCliI'l!j(lllli()'fim lls.
44
'00
i\IEDIT :-;<> I 2000
a job . Th at sets an u lte rio r tied up
p ro b le m to the destination of these
lands w hose actual use jeopa rdi zes
their return to Cl natural condition.
Anothe r impo rtant aspect the stud y
has showed is re late d to the methodology to be used when the descripted cond itio ns are found. It becom e evident the necessity to integra te in a sing le framewo rk all the
releva nt" variables. To this the agri-
cultura l ho useho ld models seem to
better in terp ret the fami ly-fa rms behav io ur in this kind o f context.
These models, in fa ct, conside r far m
characte ri stics (s ize , techno logical
level a nd othe r characteristics) a nd
the social-econo mi c features of the
fam il y ( numbe r o f co m ponents ,
age, edu catio n level, ete.) as important va ri abl es to influen ce the
cho ice of cropping systems.
For insta nce, under the sanl e price
system , w ith th e sa nle farm stTUC-
ture, famili es may choose differe nr
cro pping systems accord ing to o pp o rtuniti es fo r th e ir membe rs to
work o n the farm o r o utside, in re-
latio n to the loca l labo ur ma rke t and soc ia l characteristics of the fami ly.
•
tive to the e nviro nmental proble m a nd mo re acti ve in
the preservatio n of the rura l landscape.
CONCLUSIONS
To conside r the fami ly- income as expJanatoly va riable,
it allows both to take in accou nt the fa rm profitabi lity
a nd the demographic characte rislics o f th e famil y. It is
B ,IlLl OG RAPI-IY
Ik:nj:lmin c. Gu)'omard H. ( 994) - L'offn: de Irava il eXlerieur des femmes:
imp:lct d e la reforme de b PAC, Economic.:: Hura1e, 11. 220-221.
evident, therefore, that the far ms tha t ma nifest better at-
130Ve E. (1995) - Le politichc dcWU nione Europea pc.::r 10 sviluppo rura1c e la
lulda d ell·ambient e. AnnU:lrio del l:l rict.:rCI scienl ifica. :lnno accademico
1995- 1996, Prima parte, Universit:l d egli swdi ddb Basilic lt:l , Pot enz;l.
titude towa rds rural landsca pe are those e ithe r eq uip
\v ith grea ter natural resources and th ose in w hich the
fam il y has the possibility to integrate its fa rm income.
The fa mily- fa rm bette r integrated in th e context a nd
Cursi A. ( 1990) - 1 mooeHi fami glia azienda: una rassegna della 1eller.:ltura, I.:t
Question!.;: Agr:lria . n. 39.
w ith g rea ter eco no mic ava ilab ility can appraise the
landscape as an econo mic resource and that ca n be of-
Ell is F. (992) - Pe;IS;lnt Econo mics: F:l fm ho useho ld.s :lI1d agrarian development. Ca mbridge University Press. Cambridge ,
h:osm:lS c., Ferrar.:1 A. , Quar.:mta G., Gc.::rontidis SI. (1997) - Key InciicalOrs in
Defining :tnd " 'lapping Environmentally Sensistive Areas 10 Deserti fkation. in
corso di pubblicazione p resso Calena Supplement. Elsevier, Amsterdam .
fe red to the collectivity. They a re mostly involved in the
process of revaluatio n the territo lY to produce services
like agri-I'o urism , rura l to urism and , therefo re, to create
occasions of add itiona l income to the agricultural activities, sta rting a virtu ous circl e. This in turn means also
that it beca m e cru cia l to improve the co nditio ns of life
in the rura l areas and crea te labour op po rtunities in the
Qua ranla G .. Bove E. (1996) - Desertificn io n in Sou thern Ital )': The case of
Cby-hill areas in 13:lsilicata Hegion, ICA LPE.
Q uaranta G., J'vl:i ro lla G. ( 1998) - Hur:l] development ;md local labour llIarkel :
An agricultural HOUSehold derivt.:d modd ru r :l lIocation or famil y farm bbour
in sou thern l[al~', MED IT. 11. 3.
same rura l areas (po licies fo r the rural d evelo pme nt) .
On the contra lY, the famil y-farms less integrated in the
Quaranta G. (1997) - Inter.:lzion i tr.:1 Sl rumellli di polit ic:! Agricol:l e polinc l
Economica : un'ipotesi interprelativa del loro impallo Sll f:uniglie-azicnde
de1l'/\lta V;ll crAgri. in (A. Cioffi - A . Sorrentino, a CUr.:1 dO Le picco !t: aziende e 1:1 nUOV:1 politica :Igricol:l del1"Un ione Europe:! : problemi economici e
st ruttur:lli. Fr:mco Angeli.
conreXl , \vith poorer econo mi c ava ilability no t gua ran-
tee ing a s ufficie nt income to all the fam ily compo ne nts,
cany to escape o f the most qualified me mbe rs of the
fa mil y towa rd othe r secto rs a nd toward othe r geographic areas, whe re greater a re the possib ilities to find
Quar.mta G. ( 1998) - Family Farm Economic lkhavio ur and Soil Degr.:ldalion
in a I'-It.:dilerra nean Conte,,!. Paper presenl at o al I V i\ led:ilus m eeting lenuto
all'Accadell1i:1 d elle Scienze di lJucl:ipest (Unghcria) cbI 10 :11 15 Onobn.;
1997 , MEDIT. n. 2. 1999.
45
MEDlT N° 112000
ALTERNATIVE TOURIST ACTIVITIES IN THE FRAMEWORK
OF SMALL MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS
IN PELION MOUNTAIN (GREECE)
OlGA G. CHRlSTOPOULOU (*)
problems environmental
t is probable that the
(pollution, fire, disturbance
touristic development
ABSTRACf
of biotopes) as cultural (alof a country or of a reThe
massive
touristic
development
in
Greece
is
responsible
for
many
of traditional architeration
gion, contributes consideproblems as environmental (pollution, disturbance of biotopes), cul- tecture, "adoption" of conrably to its economic rein- tural (alteration of cultural identity) and social (increase of life cost,
forcement.
diminution of agricultural land etc.). Other types of tourism are need- sumptional models of life,
ed,
which will be absolutely compatible with the environmental and increase of life-cost and of
(De Kadt 1979, Logothetis
cultural conservation. In this paper the possibilities of the develop- the price of land, diminu1982, Davies 1986, Iakovi- ment of new forms of sustainable tourism on mountain Pelion are extion of the agricultural land
dou 1988, Tsartas 1989, aminated.
of
activities
such
as
environmental
educaThis
development
consists
etc. (Tsartas 1989 and
Smeral 1989, Christopoulou
tion at a Centre of Environmental Education or in the nature, Museum
Christopoulou 1993).
1991).
of Natural Resources, religious tourism, climbing, study of nature, deTherefore,
it is probable
The tourism (internal and velopment of forest recreation facilities, sea side touristic activities
(some
of
Pelion's
villages
are
near
the
sea),
equine
tourism
etc.
under
that
what
is
needed is anexternal) is a phenomenon
the controlled management of touristic flow and the creation of necother,
soft
touristic
developas economic as cultural. It is essary infrastructures as roads, telecommunications etc.
ment
according
to
the prina "derivation" of revenues
ciple
of
"sustainability"
(Van
in local, regional and naden
Bergen
and
Nijkamp
tionallevel, but it has simultaneously social and eco- Le developpementtouristique de masse, est responsable de beaucoup de 1994, Lorch and Bausch
environnementaux (pollUtion, destruction des biotopes),
nomic importance as its in- probJemes
culturels (alteration de l'identile culturelle), sociaux (augmentation 1995).
fluence in social, instructive du cout de vie, diminution de la terre cultivable etc.) et spaciaux (pres- Ecotourism is a "soft" type
and civilizational sectors. sion sur I'utilisalion du sol).
of tourism which is characle developpement d'autres types de tourisme, compatibles avec la
Particular emphasis should Alors,
by respect for and
terized
conseroalion environnementale et culturelle, apparait necessaire.
be given to lessening of Dans cet article nous examinons les possibililes de developpement de conservation of the natural
economic inequality be- nouveaux types de lourisme durable dans la montagne de pelion.
and cultural inheritance.
possibilites sonllies aux aclivites qui concernentl'education en viEcotourism
tween the centre and the Ces
is a form of susronnementale, comme un Centre de l'Education Environnementale,
region, to increased em- ou la nature (Musee des Ressources Naturelles), le tourisme religieux, tainable tourism, or better is
ployment
opportunities I'etude de la nature, la mise en place de petites infrastructures pour la a "style" or "philosophy" of
recreation forestiere, des activites touristiques maritimes (assez de vilboth directly related to lages
de Pelion sont pres de la mer), equitation, escalade etc. sous la travel which is charactertourism (hotels, restaurants regulation controlle de flUX de tourisme a travers de petites infrastruc- ized by respect and protecetc.), and indirectly (com- tures necessaires comme le reseau routier, les telecommunications etc. tion of the natural and culmerce, communication etc).
tural heritage, of "sustainAlso tourism contributes to
able development" and it
the region's development by creating a substructure aims to acquaint the tourists with nature. The definition
of ecotourism depends on who you talk to. Tour group
Oakovidou 1988, Tsartas 1989, Christopoulou 1991).
In Greece, increased tourist development is a reality. operators, government officials, business owners and
The feature which defines it, is the growth of tourist conservationists have spent a great deal of time trying
concentration at the beaches (Margaris et al., 1982). to agree on a common definition, but have failed to do
This and perhaps the incoherently touristic develop- so. Some people feel that nature tourism, adventure
ment, was accompanied by violent interruptions to na- tourism, culture tourism, educational tourism and histure (Daskalakis, 1986), alterations to the natural and torical tourism are all parts of ecotourism; others becultural environment and considerable changes in the lieve that ecotourism is a separate category. Also, activities as for example birdwatching, trekking, canoeing
life-styles of the indigenous population.
This touristic development is responsible for many activities are in the frame of ecotourism. However we
will define ecotourism as "a concept that describes a
form of development that respects tradition and culture,
protects and preserves the environment, and educates
C-) Lecturer in Development of Rural and Less Favoured Areas. Dep. of
and
welcomes visitors." In addition ecotourism should
Planning and Regional Development, University of Thessaly. Pedion Areos
38 334 Volos, Greece.
be economically sustainable over the long-term.
I
46