Resilience in Retrospective: The Trajectory of Agro-Pastoral Systems in the Centro Region of Portugal
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Methodological Framework
3.1. Resilience in Socio-Ecological Systems
3.2. Research Methods
3.3. Study Area
4. Results
4.1. Describing the System
4.1.1. Identifying the Main Issues
4.1.2. Resilience of What? Key Components of the Socio-Ecological System
4.1.3. Resilience to What? Disturbances, Disruptions and Uncertainty
4.2. The System Dynamics
4.3. System Interactions and Governance
4.4. Synthesis of Results
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions and Recommendations
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
SH/PDO-CS | My grandmother had a cheese shop, which was like a kitchen, with a chimney and two curing rooms. It had wooden shelves and already had a bathroom. Then all this demands started… |
T-CH | Legislation forced producers to tile the walls and to remove aluminum; everything is now made of stainless steel; wooden spoons and wire scouring pads were forbidden. |
SH/CH-AF | Many people were reluctant because they did not understand why so many changes were needed. First there were tiles, then it was painting; some came and said one thing, others came and said something else. The technicians themselves did not all have the same idea; it seems that they read the laws differently. Those requirements, so abrupt, should have been more light, taking people more calmly, more slowly, so that people could change but without bitterness. |
SH/PDO-CL | There are no differences (in requirements) between this type of cheese and the large industry. I think this is different for other European colleagues. When a European directive comes out, in Portugal it is applied to detail. People bring a copy and apply everything here. There are certain rules that are impossible to meet. In other European countries, namely in France, for this type of traditional products the directives are the same as ours, I think, but on the field there are differences. |
H/PDO | A guy gives up before reading Decree-Law 75 of 11 May 2015, which I already know by heart. I spent 48 h with nine entities before opening the door. The starting motivation is destroyed by all the challenges and obligations we have to fulfill. |
T-PM | The cheese making facilities problem is now peaceful. (In the past) it was hell: put a door, put a window… it was chaos… that ended. Now there are typical facility plans… The problem (now) is livestock farms licensing. Now the law says you must have a place for animals that meets animal welfare requirements... all on top of the producer. The producer doesn’t care anymore! This is the biggest problem causing erosion in the activity. |
T-JM | Today there is a new affront which is REAP (Livestock Regime Activity) (...) The farms must fulfil a set of rules regarding equipment and other structures that provide animal welfare and we know that these families are poor. The same happened in the past in cheese shops: it was mandatory to build a bathroom in the cheese shop, which they did not had at home. Then, the cheese shop bathroom became the family bathroom. People’s homes are not important, but animals must live in good conditions... |
SH-VR | The ministry of agriculture imposes a lot of bureaucracies. An example is REAP. We always had our facilities, and REAP should have criteria that match to what existed on the ground; it gives the impression that it was invented by people who never dealt with animals. |
SH-RP | They demand everything and anything. There are things that can be tolerated, but others… Now they want us to have a refrigerated van to take the milk to the dairy… They even demand that we have a bathroom in the mechanical milking parlor. |
SH/PDO-CL | I was in a meeting 2 or 3 years ago where we were asked to build tanks for wastewater treatment, with a size that is unaffordable for us here. I don’t know if it the legislation came out, because nobody did it. |
T-JM | Producers are not qualified to meet these administrative and business obligations which increase their costs without adding value. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
T-JM | There is a problem of land use and property rights. |
T-PM | In fact, there is available land but the legal access to it is limited. |
SH-H | It is very difficult for a young farmer to install, using EU subsidies, when there is no written land lease agreement. |
T-CH | Landlords do not make lease agreements and therefore shepherds are not able to apply for payment entitlements; in this case the land does not count for subsidies or herd increase, nothing. |
SH-SA | We pay rent but they don’t sign anything; they receive the rent and the subsidy. Without a contract, anything can be done. |
SH-VR | Nowadays, one of the biggest problems for young people who wants to settle is land, as they can’t get lease agreements. Because of subsidies, landowners may even allow them to cultivate…But this is not enough to legalize animals because they have no legal documents proving they are tenants. |
SH/PDO-CL | The direct payments were simplified but I don’t know how fair it is to only base it in land area; some landowners get as much subsidies by doing almost nothing as those who cultivate the land and have costs. That is why we have so much abandoned land here. If things were different, maybe larger areas could be used by shepherds. |
T-RC | How can meadows be installed if the land is not held by shepherds? At most annual pastures can be installed. |
T-JM | In the last 3 Rural Development Programs, the purchase of animals was removed from the investment support schemes. Then, how can new people settle in? If you do not own the land, if there is no support to buy animals, how will you settle? |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
T-CH | For those who live in big cities, a cheese produced in Seia is the same as Serra da Estrela cheese. |
SH/PDO-H | Any person who comes here sees Serra cheese everywhere. But it is not real Serra da Estrela cheese. It is a cured sheep cheese, probably made in an industrial factory, with milk coming from Spain (...) It cannot be called Serra da Estrela cheese. People must learn to identify the differences. Is Serra da Estrela cheese more expensive? Yes, it is! I have more production costs per kilo than industrial factories, so it has to be more expensive. |
SH/PDO-CL | I receive a lot of people from Lisbon and other places here at home. They arrive and ask: what is the price of your cheese? When I tell them it’s 17 euros, they answer that they can find Serra cheese at 12 euros in supermarkets. I ask if it is real Serra da Estrela cheese and they answer that it has the Seia label. We must explain that it is not Serra da Estrela and show the differences. The industries use names like Seia to deceive consumers. |
M-JA | (…) the intention is to mislead the consumer because they call it Seia but often the cheese is not even made in Seia. |
T-JM | Since the name Seia is linked to Serra da Estrela, people think they are buying Serra da Estrela cheese. Sometimes, it’s not even done in Serra da Estrela. |
PDO-PP | It is not illegal; (industrial cheese) is a regular cheese sometimes mistaken with Serra da Estrela cheese. It´s when someone promotes this misunderstanding, that a crime is committed. This happens all across the region, up the hill, in all those shops claiming to sell Serra da Estrela cheese, when what they actually sell is industrial cheese. That’s how they make their profit. |
T-AC | People buy what is cheapest; supermarkets sell sheep cheese from the factories in Seia. Most of the sheep’s milk comes from Spain. The organoleptic qualities of milk are completely different and the cheese taste is completely different, although they throw cardoon flower and say it is made by hand... |
T-RC | (…) (industrial cheese) is made with hay and feed, because the animals are inside the stable; they just come outside for a walk, because outside there is nothing to eat. They may even taste very similar. The flavor can be built. In the factory, people know what to add to cheese in order to get the flavor they want. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
SH/PDO-CL | Shepherds children do not stay. I know of no case close by where children have continued. The old people are dying or have no longer the capacity to go on working. |
SH/CH-AF | It doesn’t matter whether you have children or not. As the elders go away farms end. Everyone is giving up. There are easier jobs, a cleaner life, a more peaceful life and nowadays everyone want that. |
C-H | the shepherd’s sons and daughters have a cold and poor representation of pastoralism... I do not think that they will return to became shepherds, working from sunrise to sunset, earning the minimum wage, catching rain, without having the right to date, to go on holidays, not having the right to drink a glass of wine by the sea, not having the right to what any human being is entitled today: leisure and pleasure; (…) they have the right to denial: “I don’t want my father’s life, I don’t want this representation; even if I could earn a lot of money, I don’t want to build my home in the place where I suffered…”. |
M-H | Nowadays we want to hire a shepherd or a cheesemaker and there are none. |
SH/PDO-CS | It is very difficult to find someone to work with the animals and the people you find usually have no experience or doesn’t want hard work. |
SH/PDO-CL | I don’t want my daughters in this kind of life. Not because of prestige but because it is a hard life. |
PDO-PP | I have 4 children: one is 4 years old and the others are 18, 19 and 23. The older don’t want this. They walk the other way. This is very hard, very hard, both in the fields and cheese making... It is very hard… |
SH/PDO-CL | Most of them (shepherds) do not have descendants who want keep on the farm. 15 years from now, our problem will be not having milk. The problem won’t be the price of cheese or the price of milk because there will be none. |
T-CH | The younger say that it is a job from Sunday to Sunday, they cannot have holidays or even a single day for themselves. |
T-AC | They (shepherds) have no vacations. They do not have weekends because it is a daily activity. They spend all day with the animals. Early in the morning they have to milk, then they have to make the sheep beds, then take the herd to the pastures and, finally, milk it again... |
T-CH | In this region a shepherd is still perceived as a foolish, drunk person, and it is not easy to find someone available. Maybe what is paid is not attractive either. But it is very difficult to get people to work in this area. |
M-JA | The younger shepherds who remained increased their herds. But there are fewer shepherds. Maybe more cheese is produced now, but smaller artisanal cheesemakers have given up. |
C-H | (…) whether or not there is people in the mountains makes a big difference in fire control. |
SH-H | The main firefighters are the animals and the population in the territory. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
SH/PDO-CL | The farrowing season is in September, and we start milking around October. In the past, at vintage time, we used to sow ryegrass. Some rain had already follow and the grass was starting to greening. Not now! Sometimes we don’t even have grass by the streams, because there is no water. Before, small streams never dried. There is a wild difference. That’s why, a few years ago, milk production was better than now. All is due to the weather. Before, at farrowing time we had pasture. Now, when animals need more food, we don’t have it. |
M-JA | Shepherds have to face severe droughts, not to mention the fires. Droughts messes up shepherds… they have to give more commercial feeds to sheep than usually… |
SH/PDO-CS | The weather is very uncertain. Last year, summer was very dry, very dry... We have foggy and damp mornings every day. The climate is very different now. I’ve always heard of rainy winters... last summer was really complicated. Some producers did not have food for the sheep. As it did not rain, rye was not born and they did not have food for the sheep. Some producers gave potatoes and hay. |
T-CH | The climate doesn’t help. Last year it was a year to forget. We had a huge cost in feed. The summer was very hot, with little rain and then, in October, the big fires came and burned a lot of pastures, a lot. It was chaos. This kind of things lead shepherds to disappointment and to feelings like “I don’t care about this anymore; I’m going to migrate; I’m going to look for another job”. |
T-RC | In summer it is complicated because rainfed crops cannot grow with the climate we are now experiencing: from June until October, there is zero rain… |
T-CH | Traditionally sheep go out every day. Nowadays, however, they often come out and have nothing to eat, no pasture, everything is dry… |
SH-SA | Each year is getting worse and animals suffer; the productions have nothing to do with what it used to be... in the past when rain started it kept raining for some time, the sheep were always at the same temperature. Not now, it heats up, it cools down, and production slows down and never fully recovers. |
SH-VR | In the past, in September, the first rains arrived and we started sowing. Nowadays we do it in October and sometimes even later... In the last 10–15 years there was a very sudden change in air. This year, for example, in summer deliveries, lots of lambs died; it looked like there wasn’t enough oxygen for them to fill their lungs; many did not have the strength to suckle their mothers’ colostrum, they fell dad with 2/3 h of life. It is not that they were at the sun, but the temperature was high and there was no fresh air like a few years ago due to the grove. |
PDO-PP | In my opinion what seems to have been interfering with cheese characteristics is the climate, the change in the prevalence of cold and natural humidity… |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
PDO-PP | Kids, even the children of shepherds and cheesemakers, eat “la Vache qui rit”. |
M-H | We have to think like the consumers who bring us economic value. It is in the large urban centers that cheese is consumed, not here. |
C-H | Big retailers are the ones who decide what we eat. They come here to pick up our gourmet cheese for those who can afford it, while we eat the garbage coming from the leftovers of the rich countries, because our salaries and pensions are miserable. |
C-H | Serra da Estrela cheese is, in fact, more and more an export product, which is a paradox: the people who produce it cannot afford it. |
M-H | Portugal has a minimum wage of about 600 euros. In France it is 1500… This is a product for markets with high purchasing power, willing to pay for a gastronomic experience. |
M-H | Today, people buy 70% communication and 30% product. The first thing people buy is communication, packaging, storytelling...Serra da Estrela cheese has a wonderful story to tell and is not made anywhere else in the country or in the world. |
T-JM | People were always here, they made cheese and someone came to buy it; today it is not so. The name does have the notoriety, but you need to make things right in the market, go further. |
M-H | We have DOP producers making an average of 50–60 cheeses per day; there is no scale and it’s impossible to reach modern distribution channels. |
SH/CH-AA | Local markets are over; there are no more fairs. The middlemen who came to the producers and bought not only the excellent quality cheese, but also the other not so good, ended. This is over because people started to buy in medium and large distribution channels. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
T-RC | In the past, the public services had rural extension brigades. Where are they now? They were reassigned to producer’s associations, but how many have resisted? Doing what? Mainly filling applications to direct payments… |
T-JM | ANCOSE (producer’s association) in many ways replaced the public services. |
SH-VR | Before we went to Tojal Mau (experimental center of the Ministry of Agriculture) and brought an idea how to solve a problem (...) Today, that is impossible. There were many more technicians in the field… today I call Adubos de Portugal (agricultural inputs private company) and they come here to sell their products. |
SH/CH-AS | Technical support is very difficult to get … |
SH/PDO-CS | I have been working in a different region where producers can find really technical support but here there is no technical advising services. |
T-RC | Technical advice is different from region to region. In Serra da Estrela just forget it... Only ANCOSE does something… |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
T-CH | Sheep breed is the most serious problem in Serra da Estrela cheese production. Some years ago it was fashionable to move to Lacaune. |
SH-H | Nowadays there are many more Lacaune than Bordaleira sheep. Lacaune sheep give as much milk as cows… but shepherds don’t think on how much they eat. |
PDO-PP | The number of Lacaune ewes has increased; it’s a more productive breed and when milk is to be sold by the liter, then it is worthy; the price is not that lower, sometimes there is no difference. |
T-CH | Until 3 years ago the industries payed the same for Bordaleira sheep milk and other milk; the price was the same and Lacaune gives much more milk than Bordaleira. |
SH/CH-AA | We replaced all our Bordaleira by Lacaune; we now get three times more milk. |
T-AC | There are practically no sheep in the mountain nowadays. |
T-JM | Winter transhumance ended at the beginning of the 20th century and summer transhumance ended at the end of the 20th century. Today very few herds go to the top of the mountain to eat Nardum stricta. |
C-H | Shepherds no longer climb the mountains, they stay in the plains; as the plains around the villages became abandoned, shepherds find pasture close to home and do not need to go to the mountain; this have changed the vegetation and the landscape. |
SH-H | What the cattle eat in the mountains or in the sown pastures is not the same and this can make a difference, I think. |
SH/PDO-CS | We have irrigation and managed to have green pasture, even in October and November |
T-RC | It´s a vicious cycle: people have no money and irrigation is expensive. |
T-JM | The mainly innovations were small changes that freed people from repetitive tasks: cheese makers use a shaker instead of a spoon, small pneumatic squeezers instead of their hands, … In the past, some shepherds did not filter the milk and now everybody has stainless steel utensils and disposable filters. Now, cheesemakers have ripening chambers with air-conditioned to try to reproduce the ideal conditions for cheese evolution. |
M-JA | Now we have a much more regular flavor because we have a precision scale, to weigh the thistle and control its influence on the flavor. |
T-PM | Refrigeration of cheese, and milk, allowed the production of cheese throughout the year. It stabilizes the quality of the cheese because the cold is uniform. More cheese is produced, with higher average quality, more uniform. |
SH/CH-AA | My grandmother managed to have buttery or semi-buttery cheese in January, February and March. After that, hot weather started and she could only make hard cheese. Now, with the ripening chambers, we have more control and we can produce a buttery cheese until the end of June. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
M-JA | At the highest point we possessed around 250 sheep; we still have all the structure but we gave it to a shepherd who supplies milk to us; currently we are only focused on cheese production. |
M-JA | The owner of the shop does not live here; she comes here from time to time to spend the holidays but doesn’t live here. |
T-CH | I have been working here for 17 years and, at that time, there was no tradition of buying milk. Everyone had their herd, made the cheese from their herd and sell it directly. Then everything started to change… |
T-CH | The tradition of the husband being the shepherd and the wife the cheesemaker is a thing of the past. The remaining producers increased production and started buying milk and hiring employees. These new larger cheese factories have many employees. |
SH/CH-AF | Here everyone works in every tasks, as needed. There is no divided work, each one doing his own tasks. In the past I didn’t make cheese, it was a women’s job. The shepherd took care of the flock, did the milking and took the milk home. The rest was the lady job, she was the one who made the cheese. |
SH/CH-AR | Having sheep and processing it’s a mess, you don’t have time for anything. |
SH/CH-AF | Nowadays, this profession is more demanding. The producer must have knowledge of several things. One needs to know how to use the internet, how to use a computer… The shepherd has to be a different shepherd; other knowledge is needed, not only about sheep. In the old days, the shepherd was a shepherd and did nothing else. Shepherds didn’t have to go to the tax office or the city council, they didn’t have to communicate. |
SH/PDO-CS | The cheese still manually processed, but in a different way because the amount of milk is much higher. |
T-RC | In my opinion, a few years ago one could find exceptional cheeses but not now. The average quality is higher but excellence is rarer. |
SH/PDO-CS | They (the new Serra da Estrela cheese factories) are able to influence people that are not available for small producers and bring skills in management and marketing. |
T-CH | They (the new Serra da Estrela cheese factories) produce cheese like a small cheese shop. With bigger utensils, but it’s all manual… Everything remains the same. We weren’t used to so many brochures, so much advertising. They are betting on exports and have invested a lot in advertising. |
SH/CH-AF | They have the financial ability … They are rich people who want, can and know. They think they can do it, but they haven’t the key factor: they don’t get quality. |
SH/CH-AR | I am not against this new factories, because if it weren’t for the factories, 90% of the shepherds, or more, would be over in a year! |
T-AC | Some time ago I went to a cheese factory opening and I didn’t like that cheese. The people who makes the cheese have never made cheese in their lives before, they were hired. Quality and specificity have been lost. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
SH/PDO-CL | Before, we could not produce PDO cheese weighing less than 1 kg. Then it dropped to 700 or 800 g and now we can get down to 0.5 kg. That’s because the market is asking for smaller cheeses. Large markets usually ask for smaller units because they are cheaper. It has to do with purchasing power. |
SH/PDO-CS | Nowadays some customers, especially those who resell the cheese in the big cities, only want half a kilo cheese. |
T-AC | Cheese has never been this small, because cheeses were made for the shepherds to take and eat when they stayed for a long time in the mountains. |
M-H | (…) some new producers are starting to increase in size, in scale, gaining strength and creating a dynamic of value increasing, differentiating Serra da Estrela cheese from the industrial cheese (…). In order to sell more and grow international markets are vital. |
SH/PDO-CS | This October we started to sell cheese to a shop in Lisbon that makes cod cakes with Serra da Estrela cheese. |
T-CH | The cod cakes company helped a lot, particularly small producers. Larger producers sell to big retailers... |
PDO-PP | The casein label has become mandatory. A differentiating element in the cheese, apart from the label, that could identify the cheesemaker, was needed. |
Participants | Statements |
---|---|
SH/PDO-CL | Today the Ministry of Agriculture is there to inspect us. They do anything else. I don’t know how many technicians are in the ministry, but none or almost none are in the field. |
T-JM | I even think that people live a little terrified by the imminence of a visit, an inspection; people do not understand why things have to be done in a certain way, it is not explained to them. |
T-AC | In the eighties Serra da Estrela cheese production area was delimited and municipal associations had to be created to give rise to a Federation. We had to persuade the producers to attend the plenary sessions to elect the governing bodies. They were not interested. Nowadays these associations no longer exist. |
PDO-PP | Estrelacoop is a producer’s organization but the word cooperative is a little misleading... It is not a cooperative where people come together and create synergies to solve common problems. This kind of thing does not exist here. |
T-CH | Always the same people go (to Estrelacoop General Meetings). It’s funny that they are always the same. But it’s not that they are very participative. They like to know what’s going on, but they don’t ask questions. As soon as they sell the cheese, they feel happy. |
SH/CH-AS | I can only say good things about ANCOSE; any problem I have, they come and try to help... but they could work a little better... Some people criticize ANCOSE a lot, but not me. But they could do a little more... |
T-JM | In order to ask for something people must participate, go to general meetings. They can’t just say bad things in the pub and do nothing. But some of the shepherds recognize ANCOSE work and know that things would not be the same if ANCOSE did not exist. |
SH/CH-AF | I was a member of everything but today I am a member of nothing. I gave up everything. The years have been teaching me… I quit certification a few years ago. I was never a person that speaks a lot in meetings. I’d rather listen to better understand the paths, what is happening, how things work, and then draw my own conclusions. I wasn’t there to argue; I was never one of those people. Later, I left because I saw that it could not stand on its own two feet, in terms of helping producers, in terms of helping those who work… Whoever runs these associations are outsiders that have nothing to do with the producers. A shepherd has no active voice, he is always seen as an illiterate… |
SH/DOP-CL | I do not participate (in the activities of producer organizations), because I am very busy and I think that those who do not have time should not be there. I have already been invited, but I have no time. When I accept to join a project, I have to know what is going on there because if I join just to say “Amen” and not even know what is going on, what am I doing there? |
SH/DOP-CL | If I talk to any producer, he will say that that the association board cannot stay, that this guy and that guy do nothing… it is always the same talk. But, when D-day arrives, no one steps forward, nobody wants to go. I can’t explain it! |
SH-VR SH-SA | We (shepherds) don’t have an organizational structure. Sometimes, casually, some of us get together and talk about our problems. |
SH/CH-AR | It is often said that secrecy is the soul of business. If we open up to someone, we are done. I’ve helped a lot of people, and behind my back they were setting me up. No, you do your life, I do mine… It’s the best thing to do... |
References
- Oteros-rozas, E.; González, J.A.; Martín-lópez, B.; López, C.A.; Zorrilla-miras, P.; Montes, C. Evaluating Ecosystem Services in Transhumance Cultural Landscapes: An Interdisciplinary and Participatory Framework. GAIA 2012, 21, 185–193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dean, G.; Rivera-ferre, M.G.; Rosas-casals, M.; Lopez-i-gelats, F. Nature’s contribution to people as a framework for examining socioecological systems: The case of pastoral systems. Ecosyst. Serv. 2021, 49, 101265. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Pardini, A.; Nori, M. Agro-silvo-pastoral systems in Italy: Integration and diversification. Pastoralism 2011, 1, 26. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Caballero, R.; Fernandez-Gonzalez, F.; Badia, R.P.; Molle, G.; Roggero, P.P.; Bagella, S.; Papanastasis, V.P.; Fotiadis, G.; Sidiropoulou, A.; Ispikoudis, I. Grazing systems and biodiversity in Mediterranean areas: Spain, Italy and Greece. Pastos 2009, 39, 9–152. [Google Scholar]
- Berriet-Solliec, M.; Lataste, F.; Lépicier, D.; Piguet, V. Environmentally and socially beneficial outcomes produced by agro-pastoral systems in the Cévennes National Park (France). Land Use Policy 2018, 78, 739–747. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ripoll-Bosch, R.; Díez-Unquera, B.; Ruiz, R.; Villalba, D.; Molina, E.; Joy, M.; Olaizola, A.; Bernués, A. An integrated sustainability assessment of mediterranean sheep farms with different degrees of intensification. Agric. Syst. 2012, 105, 46–56. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Farris, E.; Filigheddu, R.; Deiana, P.; Farris, G.A.; Garau, G. Short-term effects on sheep pastureland due to grazing abandonment in a Western Mediterranean island ecosystem: A multidisciplinary approach. J. Nat. Conserv. 2010, 18, 258–267. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bagella, S.; Caria, M.C.; Farris, E.; Rossetti, I.; Filigheddu, R. Traditional land uses enhanced plant biodiversity in a Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral system. Plant Biosyst. Int. J. Deal. Asp. Plant Biol. 2016, 150, 201–207. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Statistics Portugal. Agriculture Census-Historical Series. Available online: http://www.ine.pt (accessed on 15 March 2021).
- Walker, B.; Holling, C.S.; Carpenter, S.R.; Kinzig, A. Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecol. Soc. 2004, 9, 5. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nettier, B.; Dobremez, L.; Lavorel, S.; Brunschwig, G. Resilience as a framework for analyzing the adaptation of mountain summer pasture systems to climate change. Ecol. Soc. 2017, 22, 25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wu, Z.; Li, B.; Hou, Y. Adaptive choice of livelihood patterns in rural households in a farm-pastoral zone: A case study in Jungar, Inner Mongolia. Land Use Policy 2017, 62, 361–375. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stayner, R. The changing economics of rural communities. In Sustainability and Change in Rural Australia; Coklin, C., Dibdin, J., Eds.; University of New South Wales Press: Sydney, Australia, 2005; pp. 121–138. [Google Scholar]
- Schouten, M.; van der Heide, C.; Heijman, W.; Opdam, P. A resilience-based policy evaluation framework: Application to European rural development policies. Ecol. Econ. 2012, 81, 165–175. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bardsley, D.K.; Bardsley, A.M. Organising for socio-ecological resilience: The roles of the mountain farmer cooperative genossenschaft gran alpin in graubünden, switzerland. Ecol. Econ. 2014, 98, 11–21. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Altieri, M.A.; Nicholls, C.I.; Henao, A.; Lana, M.A. Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 2015, 35, 869–890. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Lin, B.B. Resilience in Agriculture trough Crop Diversification: Adaptive Management for Environmental Change. Bioscience 2011, 61, 183–193. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Sanz, M.J.; De Vente, J.; Chotte, J.L.; Bernoux, M.; Kust, G.S.; Ruiz, I.; Almagro, M.; Alloza, J.A.; Vallejo, R.; Castillo, V.; et al. Sustainable Land Management Contribution to Successful Land-Based Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. A Report of the Science-Policy Interface; United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): Bonn, Germany, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Holling, C.S. Resilience and Stability of Ecological Systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1973, 4, 1–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Pal, R.; Torstensson, H.; Mattila, H. Antecedents of Organizational Resilience in Economic Crises—An Empirical Study of Swedish Textile and Clothing SMEs. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 2014, 147, 410–428. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- de Sanctis, I.; Meré, J.O.; Ciarapica, F.E. Resilience for lean organisational network. Int. J. Prod. Res. 2018, 56, 6917–6936. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kovács, G.; Matopoulos, A.; Hayes, O. A community-based approach to supply chain design. Int. J. Logist. Res. Appl. 2010, 13, 411–422. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Guo, J.; Zhu, X.; Liu, C.; Ge, S. Resilience Modeling Method of Airport Network Affected by Global Public Health Events. Math. Probl. Eng. 2021, 2021, 6622031. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Padel, S.; Lampkin, N.; Foster, C. Influence of policy support on the development of organic farming in the European Union. Int. Plan. Stud. 1999, 4, 303–315. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cariolet, J.M.; Colombert, M.; Vuillet, M.; Diab, Y. Assessing the resilience of urban areas to traffic-related air pollution: Application in Greater Paris. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 615, 588–596. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bolaños-Guerra, B.; Calderón-Contreras, R. Desafíos de resiliencia para disminuir la migración inducida por causas ambientales desde Centroamérica. Rev. Estud. Soc. 2021, 7–23. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Heijman, W.; Hagelaar, G.; Heide, M. Rural resilience as a new development concept. In Proceedings of the EAAE 100 Seminar, Novi Sad, Serbia, 21–23 June 2007; pp. 383–396. [Google Scholar]
- Walker, B.; Salt, D. Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2006. [Google Scholar]
- Schouten, M.; van der Heide, M.; Heijaman, W. Resilience of social-ecological systems in european rural areas: Theory and prospects. In Proceedings of the EAAE 113 Seminar, Belgrade, Serbia, 9–11 December 2009; pp. 1–18. [Google Scholar]
- Gunderson, L.; Kinzig, A.; Quinlan, A.; Walker, B. Assessing Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems: Workbook for Practitioners, 2nd ed.; Resilience Alliance: Wolfville, NS, Canada, 2010. [Google Scholar]
- Colding, J.; Barthel, S. Exploring the social-ecological systems discourse 20 years later. Ecol. Soc. 2019, 24, 2. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Folke, C.; Carpenter, S.R.; Walker, B.; Scheffer, M.; Chapin, T.; Rockström, J. Resilience Thinking: Integrating Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability. Ecol. Soc. 2010, 15, 20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dorresteijn, I.; Loos, J.; Hanspach, J.; Fischer, J. Socioecological drivers facilitating biodiversity conservation in traditional farming landscapes. Ecosyst. Heal. Sustain. 2015, 1, 1–9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cabell, J.F.; Oelofse, M. An indicator framework for assessing agroecosystem resilience. Ecol. Soc. 2012, 17, 18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Stokols, D.; Lejano, R.P.; Hipp, J. Enhancing the Resilience of Human—Environment Systems: A Social perspective. Ecol. Soc. 2013, 18, 7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Holling, C.S. Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems 2001, 4, 390–405. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gunderson, L.H.; Holling, S. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems; Island Pre.: Washington, DC, USA, 2002. [Google Scholar]
- Darnhofer, I.; Lamine, C.; Strauss, A.; Navarrete, M. The resilience of family farms: Towards a relational approach. J. Rural Stud. 2016, 44, 111–122. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- O’Connell, D.; Abel, N.; Grigg, N.; Maru, Y.; Butler, J.; Cowie, A.; Stone-Jovicich, S.; Walker, B.; Wise, R.; Ruhweza, A.; et al. Designing Projects in a Rapidly Changing World: Guidelines for Embedding Resilience, Adaptation and Transformation into Sustainable Development Projects, 1st ed.; Global Env.: Washington, DC, USA, 2016.
- Cumming, G.S.; Peterson, G.D. Unifying Research on Social–Ecological Resilience and Collapse. Trends Ecol. Evol. 2017, 32, 695–713. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Carpenter, S.; Walker, B.; Anderies, J.M.; Abel, N. From Metaphor to Measurement: Resilience of What to What? Ecosystems 2001, 4, 765–781. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Brunner, S.H.; Grêt-Regamey, A. Policy strategies to foster the resilience of mountain social-ecological systems under uncertain global change. Environ. Sci. Policy 2016, 66, 129–139. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Downey, S. Can properties of labor-exchange networks explain the resilience of swidden agriculture. Ecol. Soc. 2010, 15, 15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Ruiz-Ballesteros, E. Social-ecological resilience and community-based tourism. Tour. Manag. 2011, 32, 655–666. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Sutherland, L.-A.; Burton, R.J.F.; Ingram, J.; Blackstock, K.; Slee, B.; Gotts, N. Triggering change: Towards a conceptualisation of major change processes in farm decision-making. J. Environ. Manag. 2012, 104, 142–151. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Tenza, A.; Pérez, I.; Martínez-Fernández, J.; Giménez, A. Understanding the decline and resilience loss of a long-lived socialecological system: Insights from system dynamics. Ecol. Soc. 2017, 22, 15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Spies, M. Changing food systems and their resilience in the Karakoram Mountains of Northern Pakistan: A case study of nagar. Mt. Res. Dev. 2018, 38, 299–309. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Rescia, A.J.; Willaarts, B.A.; Schmitz, M.F.; Aguilera, P.A. Changes in land uses and management in two Nature Reserves in Spain: Evaluating the social–ecological resilience of cultural landscapes. Landsc. Urban Plan. 2010, 98, 26–35. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tomczyk, A.M.; White, P.C.L.; Ewertowski, M.W. Effects of extreme natural events on the provision of ecosystem services in a mountain environment: The importance of trail design in delivering system resilience and ecosystem service co-benefits. J. Environ. Manag. 2016, 166, 156–167. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Berrouet, L.M.; Machado, J.; Villegas-Palacio, C. Vulnerability of socio—ecological systems: A conceptual Framework. Ecol. Indic. 2018, 84, 632–647. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Luthe, T.; Wyss, R.; Schuckert, M. Network governance and regional resilience to climate change: Empirical evidence from mountain tourism communities in the Swiss Gotthard region. Reg. Environ. Chang. 2012, 12, 839–854. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Schermer, M.; Darnhofer, I.; Daugstad, K.; Gabillet, M.; Lavorel, S.; Steinbacher, M. Institutional impacts on the resilience of mountain grasslands: An analysis based on three European case studies. Land Use Policy 2016, 52, 382–391. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gotts, N.M.; van Voorn, G.A.; Polhill, J.G.; de Jong, E.; Edmonds, B.; Hofstede, G.J.; Meyer, R. Agent-based modelling of socio-ecological systems: Models, projects and ontologies. Ecol. Complex. 2019, 40, 100728. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Bakker, K. The limits of ‘neoliberal natures’: Debating green neoliberalism. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 2010, 34, 715–735. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Midmore, P.; Whittaker, J. Economics for sustainable rural systems. Ecol. Econ. 2000, 35, 173–189. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Darnhofer, I.; Bellon, S.; Dedieu, B.; Milestad, R. Adaptiveness to enhance the sustainability of farming systems: A review. Agron. Sustain. 2010, 30, 545–555. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Walker, B.; Salt, D. Resilience Practice: Building Capacity to Absorb Disturbance and Maintain Function; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2012. [Google Scholar]
- Šūmane, S.; Kunda, I.; Knickel, K.; Strauss, A.; Tisenkopfs, T.; des Ios Rios, I.; Rivera, M.; Chebach, T.; Ashkenazy, A. Local and farmers’ knowledge matters! How integrating informal and formal knowledge enhances sustainable and resilient agriculture. J. Rural Stud. 2018, 59, 232–241. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Berkes, F. Understanding uncertainty and reducing vulnerability: Lessons from resilience thinking. Nat. Hazards 2007, 41, 283–295. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ostrom, E.; Cox, M. Moving beyond panaceas: A multi-tiered diagnostic approach for social-ecological analysis. Environ. Conserv. 2010, 37, 451–463. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Parsonson-Ensor, C.; Saunders, C.M. Exploratory Research into the Resilience of Farming Systems during Periods of Hardship. In Proceedings of the 2011 New Zealand Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Conference, Nelson, New Zealand, 25–26 August 2011. [Google Scholar]
- Callaghan, E.G.; Colton, J. Building sustainable & resilient communities: A balancing of community capital. Environ. Dev. Sustain. 2009, 10, 931–942. [Google Scholar]
- Folke, C.; Carpenter, S.; Elmqvist, T.; Gunderson, L.; Holling, C.; Walker, B. Resilience and Sustainable Development: Building Adaptive Capacity in a World of Transformations. Ambio 2002, 31, 437–440. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Walker, B.; Carpenter, S.; Anderies, J.; Abel, N.; Cumming, G.; Janssen, M.; Lebel, L.; Norberg, J.; Peterson, G.D.; Pritchard, R. Resilience management in social-ecological systems: A working hypothesis for a participatory approach. Ecol. Soc. 2002, 6, 14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Given, L. 100 Questions (and Answers) About Qualitative Research; SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA, 2016. [Google Scholar]
- Saunders, B.; Sim, J.; Kingstone, T.; Baker, S.; Waterfield, J.; Bartlam, B.; Burroughs, H.; Jinks, C. Saturation in qualitative research: Exploring its conceptualization and operationalization. Qual. Quant. 2018, 52, 1893–1907. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Drisko, J.; Maschi, T. Content Analysis; Oxford Uni.: Oxford, UK, 2015. [Google Scholar]
- DGADR. Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses: Produtos Agrícolas, Géneros Alimentícios e Pratos Preparados. Available online: https://tradicional.dgadr.gov.pt/pt/cat/queijos-e-produtos-lacteos/31-queijo-da-serra-da-estrela (accessed on 17 March 2020).
- Statistics Portugal. Annual Estimates of Resident Population. Available online: http://www.ine.pt (accessed on 15 March 2021).
- Statistics Portugal. Population and Housing Census 2011. Available online: http://www.ine.pt (accessed on 15 March 2021).
- Statistics Portugal. Integrated Business Accounts System. Available online: http://www.ine.pt (accessed on 15 March 2021).
- Fanelli, R.M. A new classification of European union regions: A decision support tool for policymakers. Spanish J. Agric. Res. 2019, 17, 1–16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Madureira, L.; Magalhães, P.; Silva, P.G.; Marinho, C.; Oliveira, R. Economia dos Serviços de Ecossistema—Um guia para Conhecer e Valorizar Serviços de Agroecossistemas em áreas Protegidas de Montanha; Quercus: Lisboa, Portugal, 2013. [Google Scholar]
- Rosa, N. Manteigas no Outro lado do Tempo: Décadas de 1950 e 1960; Chiado Books: Lisbon, Portugal, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Jansen, J.; Castro, P.; Costa, L. Economic-ecological interactions in the Serra da Estrela, Portugal. In Economy and Ecology of Heathlands: Heathland Ecology and Management; Diemond, W., Heijman, W., Siepel, H., Webb, N., Eds.; KNNV Publishing: Zeist, The Netherlands, 2013; pp. 65–89. [Google Scholar]
- State of Victoria. Goulburn Broken Regional Catchment Strategy. Shepparton. 2013. Available online: https://www.gbcma.vic.gov.au/downloads/RegionalCatchmentStrategy/GBCMA_RCS_2013-19.pdf (accessed on 2 February 2019).
- Fogeiro, É.; Barracosa, P.; Oliveira, J.; Wessel, D.F. Influence of Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) and Flock Lactation Stage in PDO Serra da Estrela cheese. Foods 2020, 9, 386. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Flury, C.; Huber, R.; Tasser, E. Future of mountain agriculture in the Alps. In The Future of Mountain Agriculture; Mann, S., Ed.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2013; pp. 105–126. [Google Scholar]
- Arfini, F.; Antonioli, F.; Cozzi, E.; Donati, M.; Guareschi, M.; Mancini, M.C.; Veneziani, M. Sustainability, innovation and rural development: The case of Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4978. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Barnes, R. The Capacity of Property Rights to Accommodate Social-Ecological Resilience. Ecol. Soc. 2013, 18, 6. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Martino, J.; Freitas, S. Consumo de queijos com DOP. Centro de Portugal. Ruris/Queijos Centro Portugal (unpublished manuscript). 2021. [Google Scholar]
- Marie, C.D.S.; Mariani, M.; Millet, M. Can raw milk cheese and pasteurised milk cheese coexist? Unthinkable or never really considered? Rev. Agric. Food Environ. Stud. 2020, 101, 287–309. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gunasekaran, A.; Rai, B.K.; Griffin, M. Resilience and competitiveness of small and medium size enterprises: An empirical research. Int. J. Prod. Res. 2011, 49, 5489–5509. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Fanelli, R.M. The spatial and temporal variability of the effects of agricultural practices on the environment. Environments 2020, 7, 33. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Janssen, M.A.; Bodin, Ö.; Anderies, J.M.; Elmqvist, T.; Ernstson, H.; McAllister, R.R.; Olsson, P.; Ryan, P. Toward a Network Perspective of the Study of Resilience in Social-Ecological Systems. Ecol. Soc. 2006, 11, 15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Crane, T. Of models and meanings: Cultural resilience in social-ecological systems. Ecol. Soc. 2010, 15, 19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Martino, J.; Lopes, A. Modelo técnico-económico para a produção de leite e para o fabrico de Queijo Serra da Estrela DOP. Programa da Valorização da Fileira do Queijo da Região Centro de Portugal. Ruris/Queijos Centro Portugal (unpublished manuscript). 2021. [Google Scholar]
- Abel, N.; Cumming, D.H.M.; Anderies, J.M. Collapse and reorganization in social-ecological systems: Question, some ideas, and policy implications. Ecol. Soc. 2006, 11, 17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Cote, M.; Nightingale, A.J. Resilience thinking meets social theory: Situating social change in socio-ecological systems (SES) research. Prog. Hum. Geogr. 2012, 36, 475–489. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Levels | Milk Production | Milk Production and Cheese Processing | Cheese Processing and Wholesale Distribution | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Production subsystem actors | Shepherds | Shepherds/ artisanal cheese (not PDO) producers | Shepherds/ PDO cheese producers | PDO cheese producers | Cheese industrial factories | |||||
Quantitative trend | ↗ | ↘ | ↘ | ↗ | ↗ | |||||
Diversity in agents and institutions | Natural resources | − | Natural resources | − | Natural resources | − | ||||
Human resources | − | Human resources | − | Human resources | − | |||||
Nr shepherds | − | |||||||||
Nr cheesemakers | − | Nr cheesemakers | − | |||||||
Specialization | − | Specialization | − | Specialization | − | |||||
Newcomers 1 | + | Newcomers 1 | + | |||||||
Newcomers 2 | + | Newcomers 2 | + | Newcomers 2 | + | |||||
Modularity: heterogeneity of inputs and outputs | Other sheep | + | Other sheep | + | Other Sheep | + | ||||
Forage breed | − | Forage breed | − | Forage breed | − | |||||
Policies | − | Policies | − | Policies | − | Policies | − | Policies | − | |
New products | + | New products | + | New products | + | New products | + | |||
Outer milk | + | |||||||||
Social capital | Depopulation | − | Depopulation | − | Depopulation | − | ||||
Newcomers 1 | + | Newcomers 1 | + | |||||||
Overlap in Governance | Network | − | Network | − | Network | − | Network | − | Network | − |
Newcomers 2 | + | Newcomers 2 | + | Newcomers 2 | + | |||||
Innovation | Creativity | − | Creativity | − | Creativity | − | ||||
Innovations | + | Innovations | + | |||||||
Resilience (trends) | ↘ | ↘ | ↘ | ↗ | ↗ | |||||
Legend (alphabetic order): Creativity—Devaluation of the producers’ creativity. Depopulation—Depopulation processes. Forage breed—Pasture and forage breeding systems. Network—Weak and uneven networks among actors and institutions, at different levels. Newcomers 1—New economic actors, manly managers and factories. Newcomers 2—New social actors, manly regulatory institutions and governmental agencies. Nr cheesemakers – Number of cheesemakers. | Nr shepherds—Number of shepherds. New products: different cheeses, both in size and ripening time (e.g., old cheese); cottage and curd cheese. Other sheep—Other sheep breeds (mainly foreign breeds). Outer milk—Milk produced outside the PDO region. Policies—Rural development policies. ↗ Increasing relative trend ↘ Decreasing relative trend + Positive effect − Negative effect |
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. |
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Dinis, I.; Simões, O. Resilience in Retrospective: The Trajectory of Agro-Pastoral Systems in the Centro Region of Portugal. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5089. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13095089
Dinis I, Simões O. Resilience in Retrospective: The Trajectory of Agro-Pastoral Systems in the Centro Region of Portugal. Sustainability. 2021; 13(9):5089. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13095089
Chicago/Turabian StyleDinis, Isabel, and Orlando Simões. 2021. "Resilience in Retrospective: The Trajectory of Agro-Pastoral Systems in the Centro Region of Portugal" Sustainability 13, no. 9: 5089. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13095089