How can the exodus of young inhabitants from mountain areas be stopped? Can local development be compatible with a local economic framework? What is the best formula for balancing the environmental impact of the large-scale building of second homes? These are the questions which this research project sets out to answer. Entitled El Món Rural del Segle XXI (the Rural World in the 21st Century), its goal is to provide new arguments for sustainable development in the Pyrenean region.

The study, backed by the Institute for Lleida Studies on the initiative of the abertis foundation, was presented today in Lleida at a one-day conference which highlighted the need to unify administrative, institutional, economic and local strategies to assure rules for development which safeguard the collective good in the medium to long term. Thus, the study emphasises “the degradation and abusive use of the environment stemming from the unregulated spread of second homes in mountain areas.”

At the opening of this conference, the patron of the abertis foundation and doctor of environmental science Martí Boada stressed the importance of working to achieve “a sustainable model, far removed from cosmetic measures or nostalgic, immobilist views and boldly combining elements of progress with others of traditional culture.” Such a development model will not be possible, he added, without the involvement of different stakeholders, among them business people, politicians and representatives of institutions and the community.

The conclusions of the research work lay down broad lines of action for development in mountain areas which have, in general terms, the following features:

1. Defining patterns of working for the agricultural, craft, industrial and service sectors which abide by the principles of comparative advantage and the preservation of rural culture. Comparative advantage means taking advantage of each area’s specialisation in terms of goods and services, building up the most favourable activities in each area, in order to create a balanced region. “In terms of both nature and communities, the mountains are world heritage. They constitute capital, not a liquid resource. The return on them is in the long term, not an immediate one,” the study concludes.

2. Analysing and structuring industrial and service activities in accordance with the principles of territorial embedding. In recent years progress in road and communications systems has put an end to the stereotype of isolated mountain areas but, on the other hand, has added to a kind of “congestion” which can be seen in the large-scale building of second homes and in seasonal facilities (medical and for tourists, among others) which need to be available all year round while being used partially or, at certain times, on a massive scale.

3. Promoting integrated policies for preserving the landscape. On the one hand, these must enable agricultural and other activities compatible with the environment to continue in the long term. On the other they must avoid abusive land use in mountain areas. Overall, these represent a form of local development which does not go against the global economy, but complements it. 

Finally, the study finds that these policies can only be carried out through a combination of individual and collective initiative, and by combining family and business goals with those of the community.

The studies backed by the abertis foundation open up new areas of research which cannot always be covered by academic institutions, but which complement innovative, rigorous lines of research.