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| Volume 111(2) 2011, pages: 149-167. | | Paul Swagemakers & Johannes S.C. Wiskerke: | Revitalizing ecological capital | | The modernization of agricultural food production has diminished
and is diminishing the sustainable use of the local natural resource
base, resulting in the fragmentation of landscapes and the decline of
biodiversity. In this paper we analyze the revitalization of ecological
capital, which provides insights into how effective adjustments in
land-use and farming practices can stimulate a reconnection between
farming, nature and society. The paper focuses on a case study about
endogenous knowledge on the relation between farm activities and
the reproduction of the landscape and its flora and fauna in the
(Dutch) Friesian Woodlands. We suggest that building adequate,
local institutional frameworks that strengthen landscape structures,
regional identity and the ‘branding’ of food products will sustain
rural development in the area. The results should be of value for
increasing the understanding among researchers and policymakers
of the potential of endogenous knowledge in governing the increase
of the ecological stock in an area. | | >> download as pdf |
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