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Il consolidamento della democrazia in Africa attraversa alterne vicende con risultati diversi e spesso controversi, in particolare nel suo rapporto con la tutela dei diritti fondiari. L’articolo intende discutere di questi elementi partendo dal controverso rapporto storico fra democrazia e riforme agrarie (nelle sue diverse accezioni inclusi i modelli di registrazione di titoli di possesso), un tema oggi in parte messo in secondo ordine, ma fondamentale nel ridefinire il rapporto con i cittadini e il rafforzamento di democrazia e sviluppo. Dopo una discussione sulle questioni generali il saggio si soffermerà sull’Africa australe dove il tema è stato storicamente “caldo” e oggi investe transizioni non risolte da questo punto di vista, come nei casi presi in esame di Zimbabwe e Sudafrica.

The Basilicata region (South of Italy) is land of truffles where the gastronomic, economic and cultural awareness has developed for this non-timber forest product only in the past decade. Little is known about truffle production and its social, economic and environmental implications. In this article we investigate the Basilicata truffle sector by devoting particular attention to the truffle hunters who gather the truffles from the forests. The data for the analysis were collected through a survey with the aim of describing the gathering activity (people involved, specie and quantities collected, etc.) and assessing its significance as a source of income. Results show that truffles can provide local communities with earning opportunities. However, the truffle sector needs to be protected and enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the bio-districts have been considerably spread in Italy. The bio-district can be defined as a locally rooted multifunctional project with the involvement of farms and institutions. Our research aims at assessing potential relations between territorial, socio-economic features and the presence of bio-districts in an area, by means of a logit regression analysis at municipal scale in Italy. Data have been collected from several sources, among which ISTAT digital databases. Main results show as farms with diversification activities and the presence of Local Action Groups are factors related to the rising of bio-districts in a territory. Moreover, the study highlights the role of bio-districts in disadvantageous and mountain areas, in developing effective territorial governance. In terms of policy implication, CAP 2023-2027 can constitute the ideal bench for testing bio-districts function playing a crucial role in reaching the objective set by the Farm to Fork strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is a priority in EU rural development strategies. Due to the multidimensionality of the sustainability issue, this paper presents a Spatial Decision Support System to assess territorial sustainability and help decision-makers in rural planning process. Four globally valid sustainability dimensions were considered (long-term ecological sustainability, satisfaction of basic human needs, promotion of intragenerational and intergenerational equity), measured by a set of socio-cultural-political-environmental indicators by using the Mazziotta and Pareto method. The results of the S-DSS, implemented and verified in Basilicata region (southern Italy), provide the maps of sustainability values for each dimension at municipalities level, showing the usefulness of the tool to identify and monitor rural areas that require priority interventions and resources, in order to foster sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communication is taking on a growing role in European Union policies, especially considering the need to boost transparency and accountability of Operational Programmes. Therefore, the assessment of communication activities has a crucial role in evaluation processes. However, in the last decade few specific evaluations have been carried out in Italian Rural Development Programmes, mostly using desk analysis, customer satisfaction surveys and output indicators. The aim of this study is to review 2007-2013 assessment of communication activities in Italian and European Structural and Investment Funds and to analyse 2014-2020 Italian Communication Plans, to provide useful insights for current evaluations. The analysis suggested the importance of using mixed methods and participatory approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Leader approach, innovation plays a key role in European territories, especially in marginal and peripheral ones, being essentially assumed, from a programmatic point of view, as social innovation. This paper aims to understand the interpretation and the declination of innovation in the practice of Leader initiative at local scale and analyze contextual factors related to its implementation in two southern provinces of Spain and Italy (Granada and Lecce). The study aims to analyze the projects reported as innovative by the leaders of the Local Action Groups, starting from the literature and using a key Community document entitled "Extended report on preserving the innovative character of LEADER". Lastly, the study reveals common significant problems linked to local awareness of the role of social innovation, as well as the absence or limitations of key institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investment support measures in agriculture can have differentiated effects on the strategic reorganisation and the performance of farms. In this paper, we study the patterns of technical change of a sample of farms in the Lombardy region, Italy, that invested in structural modernisation benefiting from the financial incentives provided under the measure 121. We find evidence relating the modernisation of farms under the umbrella of the measure 121 to limited positive changes in farmland and more substantial positive changes in other inputs. The results are not conclusive regarding a causal relationship between the measure 121 and the structural change of farms. Nonetheless, the paper describes a situation in which patterns of farmland reduction are relatively less frequent in farms that make use of this policy instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study represents a means to get involved in the debate dealing with the complexity and the integration of research methods, focusing on the relevance of participatory evaluation approaches in the development of ex ante evaluations for the Community 2014-2020 programming period. Indeed, new Regulations point out partnership as the main instrument for implementing initiatives funded under the European Structural and Investments Funds (ESIF) of the Common Strategic Framework (CSF) by supporting and regulating the active involvement of political, economic and social stakeholders since the first phases of the programming process. In this context, we propose an application of the Stakeholder Analysis (SA) in the framework of the ex ante evaluation of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) managed by the Region of Liguria as a flexible method based on the weighting of roles, interests and levels of influence that each stakeholder may exercise while implementing the proposed strategies and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper elaborates on the relationship between land cover changes and transformation drivers, by analysing the dynamics that took place between 1990 and 2010 in Mt. Matese area (Italy). Mt. Matese is an interesting case study which was included as a pilot area in the Italian Strategy for Inner Areas. Drivers related to land cover changes include population characteristics, the agricultural and production system, tourist offer, location and settlements dynamics. Land cover changes and the dynamics of studied drivers are analysed in-depth, through a descriptive and multivariate analysis. Results highlight the difficult situation of the study area for many drivers. However, the slow changes in land cover and the potentialities offered by the natural environment, as well as by the agriculture and tourism sectors, outline some development prospects. The paper outlines the current scenario in the area and provides useful references for future policies aimed at setting up this area as National Park and at implementing the Strategy for Inner Areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of programming of the European Structural and Investment funds 2014-2020, this paper aims to highlight the positive aspects of the application of financial instruments to be use in substitution of classical subsides. The authors present the case study of ex ante evaluation of the Revolving Fund of the Autonomous Region Friuli Venezia Giulia in the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. The evaluation was carried out in the last half of 2015. In the article are listed, starting with the reference context and the specific evaluation questions, methods and analytical techniques used to get to demonstrate the validity and use of the opportunities of Financial Instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe the experience carried out in the Rural Development Programme (RDP) of Tuscany Region for the period 2007-2013 in the assessment of the activities implemented by the Local Action Groups (LAG) using a participatory approach. This assessment method has been adopted to stimulate awareness of the LAGs as local development agents and enhancer of the Social Capital of the territories in which they operated. Through an evaluation process well-structured step by step, the self-assessment tried to maximize the acquisition of information from the individual LAG for the RDP evaluation at regional level and to strengthen their empowerment and reliability as agents of rural and local development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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