IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v10y2021i7p721-d591065.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

High Nature Value Farming Systems and Protected Areas: Conservation Opportunities or Land Abandonment? A Study Case in the Madrid Region (Spain)

Author

Listed:
  • María F. Schmitz

    (Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Transport, Territory and Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Engineering of Roads, Channels and Ports, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos

    (Regional Ministry of Education and Youth of the Government of Madrid, 28014 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

European rural landscapes contain high nature value farmlands that, in addition to being the main economic activity in many rural areas, host habitats and species of great conservation value. The maintenance of these farming systems largely depends on traditional ecological knowledge and the rural lifestyles of the local populations. However, they have not been sufficiently appreciated and protected, and as a result, they are currently threatened. In this study, which was performed in the Madrid region (central Spain), we analyse the social-ecological changes of the rural landscape after the establishment of a protected natural area network. The obtained results highlight a significant loss of these high nature value farming systems and a marked increase in the rewilding processes characterised by scrub–forest transition and the development of forest systems. These processes are linked to the disruption of the transmission of traditional ecological knowledge, which may imply negative consequences for both the high biocultural diversity that these systems host and the cultural identity and the socioeconomics of the rural populations that live there. A useful methodological tool is provided for social–ecological land planning and the design of effective management strategies for the conservation of rural cultural landscapes.

Suggested Citation

  • María F. Schmitz & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos, 2021. "High Nature Value Farming Systems and Protected Areas: Conservation Opportunities or Land Abandonment? A Study Case in the Madrid Region (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:7:p:721-:d:591065
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/7/721/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/7/721/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sims, Katharine R.E., 2010. "Conservation and development: Evidence from Thai protected areas," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 94-114, September.
    2. Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui & Francisco D. Pineda & María F. Schmitz, 2019. "Designing Protected Areas for Social–Ecological Sustainability: Effectiveness of Management Guidelines for Preserving Cultural Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    3. Lacitignola, D. & Petrosillo, I. & Cataldi, M. & Zurlini, G., 2007. "Modelling socio-ecological tourism-based systems for sustainability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 206(1), pages 191-204.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gema González-Romero & Rocío Silva-Pérez & Fulgencio Cánovas-García, 2022. "Territorialised Agrifood Systems and Sustainability: Methodological Approach on the Spanish State Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Alena Harbiankova & Elena Scherbina, 2021. "Evaluation Model for Sustainable Development of Settlement System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Rocío Silva-Pérez & Gema González-Romero, 2022. "GIAHS as an Instrument to Articulate the Landscape and Territorialized Agrifood Systems—The Example of La Axarquía (Malaga Province, Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Erik Aschenbrand, 2022. "How Can We Promote Sustainable Regional Development and Biodiversity Conservation in Regions with Demographic Decline? The Case of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River Landscape Brandenburg, Germany," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Rosyi Damayanti T. Manningtyas & Katsunori Furuya, 2022. "Traditional Ecological Knowledge versus Ecological Wisdom: Are They Dissimilar in Cultural Landscape Research?," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, July.
    6. Juan F. Beltrán & John A. Litvaitis & Pedro Abellán, 2022. "Seeking Sustainable Solutions in a Time of Change," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-2, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicolas Marine & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui & Manuel Rodrigo de la O Cabrera & David Escudero & María F. Schmitz, 2020. "Protected Landscapes in Spain: Reasons for Protection and Sustainability of Conservation Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Du, Yimeng & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2019. "Can climate mitigation help the poor? Measuring impacts of the CDM in rural China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 178-197.
    3. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Alix-Garcia, Jennifer M., 2017. "Parks versus PES: Evaluating direct and incentive-based land conservation in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 8-28.
    4. Clements, Tom & Suon, Seng & Wilkie, David S. & Milner-Gulland, E.J., 2014. "Impacts of Protected Areas on Local Livelihoods in Cambodia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 125-134.
    5. Jaiswal, Sreeja & Balietti, Anca & Schäffer, Daniel, 2023. "Environmental Protection and Labor Market Composition," Working Papers 0736, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    6. Lina O Anderson & Samantha De Martino & Torfinn Harding & Karlygash Kuralbayeva & Andre Lima, 2016. "The Effects of Land Use Regulation on Deforestation:," OxCarre Working Papers 172, Oxford Centre for the Analysis of Resource Rich Economies, University of Oxford.
    7. Blackman, Allen, 2013. "Evaluating forest conservation policies in developing countries using remote sensing data: An introduction and practical guide," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-16.
    8. Yergeau, Marie-Eve & Boccanfuso, Dorothée & Goyette, Jonathan, 2017. "Reprint of: Linking conservation and welfare: A theoretical model with application to Nepal," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 229-243.
    9. María Fe Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui, 2021. "Cultural Landscape Preservation and Social–Ecological Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-5, March.
    10. Petr Štumpf & Jitka Mattyašovská & Adriana Krištùfková, 2021. "Restart of Hospitality and Tourism: System Dynamics and Scenario-Based Modelling," Academica Turistica - Tourism and Innovation Journal, University of Primorska Press, vol. 14(2), pages 125-136.
    11. Sébastien Desbureaux & Eric Nazindigouba Kere & Pascale Combes Motel, 2016. "Impact Evaluation in a Landscape: Protected Natural Forests, Anthropized Forested Lands and Deforestation Leakages in Madagascar's Rainforests," Working Papers halshs-01342182, HAL.
    12. Francisco B. Galarza & Joanna Kámiche Zegarra & Rosario Gómez, 2023. "Roads and Deforestation: Do Local Institutions Matter?," Working Papers 192, Peruvian Economic Association.
    13. Estifanos, Tafesse Kefyalew & Polyakov, Maksym & Pandit, Ram & Hailu, Atakelty & Burton, Michael, 2020. "The impact of protected areas on the rural households’ incomes in Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    14. Chen, Yuquan & Fan, Shenggen & Liu, Chang & Yu, Xiaohua, 2022. "Is there a tradeoff between nature reserves and grain production in China?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    15. Mojo, D. & Oduor, A.M.O. & Fu, C. & Bai, Y. & Long, H. & Wang, G. & Zhang, L., 2018. "The effects of protected areas on the welfare of local communities: the case of Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 276956, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Sonia SCHWARTZ & Jean Galbert ONGONO OLINGA & Eric Nazindigouba KERE & Pascale COMBES MOTEL & Jean-Louis COMBES & Johanna CHOUMERT & Ariane Manuela AMIN, 2014. "A spatial econometric approach to spillover effects between protected areas and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon," Working Papers 201406, CERDI.
    17. Paudel, Jayash, 2018. "Community-Managed Forests, Household Fuelwood Use and Food Consumption," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 62-73.
    18. Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui & Francisco D. Pineda & María F. Schmitz, 2019. "Designing Protected Areas for Social–Ecological Sustainability: Effectiveness of Management Guidelines for Preserving Cultural Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    19. Shang Xu & H. Allen Klaiber & Daniela A. Miteva, 2023. "Impacts of forest conservation on local agricultural labor supply: Evidence from the Indonesian forest moratorium," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(3), pages 940-965, May.
    20. Auliz-Ortiz, Daniel Martín & Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor & Mendoza, Eduardo & Martínez-Ramos, Miguel, 2023. "Are there trade-offs between conservation and development caused by Mexican protected areas?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:7:p:721-:d:591065. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.