Suchergebnisse

Seit dem Beitritt Ãsterreichs zur EU im Jahr 1995 ist Ãsterreich gefordert, nachhaltige Regionalentwicklung als wesentliches Ziel der europÃ$ischen Politik umzusetzen. Seit damals kÃnnen sich die Regionen an den EU-Strukturfonds beteiligen. Bei der Umsetzung des Nachhaltigkeitskonzeptes in den Regionen spielt die Analyse der institutionellen Strukturen - also formaler und nicht-formaler Regeln - welche die Handlungen regionaler Akteure bestimmen, eine wesentliche Rolle. Die Umsetzung des Nachhaltigkeitskonzeptes erfordert Methoden, die geeignet sind, wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zu liefern und gleichzeitig fÃr PraktikerInnen und regionale AkteurInnen relevant zu sein. In der vorliegenden Arbeit kommen zwei methodische AnsÃ$tze zur Anwendung. (1) Eine Ãsterreichweite Institutionenanalyse setzt sich mit der Frage nach der Rolle, der Ressourcenausstattung und der Vernetzung jener Institutionen, die fÃr die Umsetzung nachhaltiger Regionalentwicklung nach dem Beitritt Ãsterreichs zur EU errichtet wurden, auseinander. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Umsetzung des Konzeptes der Nachhaltigkeit in der Praxis auf Grund der gegenwÃ$rtigen institutionellen Strukturen Ã$uÃerst schwierig ist. Das bedeutet, die Wissenschaft ist weiterhin gefordert, das Nachhaltigkeitskonzept hinsichtlich seines Umsetzungspotentials zu stÃ$rken. (2) Der zweite methodische Zugang dieser Arbeit besteht in der Entwicklung integrierter sozialÃkologischer agenten-basierter Modelle. Diese Modelle verfolgen das Ziel, Wissen unterschiedlicher Disziplinen in ein kohÃ$rentes Modell zur Darstellung und Analyse von ZusammenhÃ$ngen zu integrieren. Das gibt die MÃglichkeit, Interaktionen der sozialen, Ãkologischen und Ãkonomischen Dimensionen von regionaler nachhaltiger Entwicklung besser zu verstehen. Dabei erweist sich der Einsatz des Modells als geeignet, um mit regionalen Stakeholdern gemeinsam einen transdisziplinÃ$ren Forschungsprozess zu gestalten. als gemeinsames Produkt der PraxispartnerInnen und der WissenschafterInnen ermÃglicht eine hohe ...

The paper is based on an institutional survey in Austria. The aim of the survey was to identify different types of regional institutions - traditional versus new innovative institutions. The main research focus concentrated on new challenges in regional development processes resulting from the EU-strategy to foster sustainable regional development in the member states. As a consequence the question of the relevance of completely new types of institutions arises on the one hand. These new types are directly linked to the EU structural fund policy, e.g. LEADER+ manager, EU regional manager. With respect to this focus these institutions mainly concentrate on EU programmes and initiatives. On the other hand the traditional institutions have their specific focus on e.g. tourism, economic development etc. not necessarily with any direct link to EU-programmes. Therefore this contribution starts with a general institutional analysis (i.e. organisational attributes, activity profiles, regional embeddedness, position in the regional stakeholder network, etc.) to find differences between traditional and new innovative institutions. Based on these attributes we will present the institutional landscape in Austrian regions. This landscape consists of the above mentioned traditional and the new innovative institutions. Are these co-existing institutions able to concentrate the top-down (i.e. regional policy) and the bottom-up (i.e. project initiatives) interests in order to foster sustainable regional initiatives' For answering this question we haven chosen several case-studies in different Austrian regions. This case study analysis will be presented as follows: * Strengths and weaknesses of different institutional settings (e.g. various competing institutions versus one strong institution) * Comparison of strategic decisions in the case study regions * Is there any ideal solution identifiable for other regions'

According to the current focus of the regional policy of the European Union on sustainable regional development the question arises - what are the key-elements to achieve a sustainable regional pathway? The identification of these key-factors is a challenge for the regional policy in each member state. One elementary key-factor is the promotion of new technologies as part of a regional innovation strategy. Regional institutions which support environmental improvements within regions can be identified as key-actors for achieving a sustainable regional pathway. This contribution focuses mainly on the analysis of these institutions within Austrian regions that are analysed within a research project funded by the Austrian National Bank ("Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank"). The main objectives are the following: (a) Identification of those institutions relevant for fostering new technologies to achieve a sustainable regional development. (b) Typology of these institutions to gain an appreciation of the relevant policies and activities of the regional development agencies in regions in fostering within companies new technologies which support environmental improvements, both in their own regions and elsewhere in the European Union. (c) Analysis of the institutions activities (activity profiles) (d) To foster an exchange of information on policy in these activities between the agencies. (e) Identification of network activities between different types of regional institutions. The main research question focusses on the relevance of existing regional institutions and their ability of fulfilling the challenges of sustainable regional development goals. Their role within the regional innovation system and their flexibility to change their target group profiles seems relevant for successful applications of sustainable regional development strategies. The question of the relevance of completely new types of institutions or only adapted profiles of still existing institutions needs to be answered. The paper will focus on the Austrian institutional landscape. Several types of regional institutions will be analysed within a survey based on standardised questionnaires. Within a second step of analysis those types of institutions with explicitly focuses on sustainable regional projects will be further analysed with in-depth case studies.

Sedentary extensive small ruminant farming systems are highly important for the preservation of High Nature Value (HNV) farmland. Both the abandonment of grazing and overgrazing have led to environmental degradation in many Mediterranean regions. On the Greek island of Samothrace, decades of overgrazing by sheep and goats has caused severe degradation of local ecosystems. The present study highlights the importance of regional contexts for national and EU agricultural policies in regard to sustainable development of sedentary extensive livestock systems. By utilizing the conceptual framework of socio-ecological systems research, we analyze the interdependencies of environmental, economic and social factors on a local island level. Results show that between 1929 and 2016, the livestock and land-use system of Samothrace transformed from a diverse system towards a simplified system, solely used for small ruminant production. Total livestock units increased from 2200 in 1929 to 7850 in 2002, declining to 5100 thereafter. The metabolic analysis conducted for the years 1993–2016 shows that 80–90% of the feed demand of small ruminants was covered by grazing, exceeding available grazing resources for at least a decade. The regional implementation of CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) continues to support excessively high animal numbers, while