Search Results (344)

The Brazilian Amazon is a contested frontier, shaped by destructive and conservationist forces. Most forest clearing is driven by agro-extractivism, an agrarian pathway based on raw commodity production. The socio-biodiversity economy (SBE) has emerged in response, widely regarded as a transformative agrarian pathway capable of reconciling environmental conservation and rural livelihoods. However, recent research suggests that, as socio-biodiversity products scale up, agro-extractivist dynamics can be reproduced within the SBE. We examine this tension in the cocoa frontier of the Transamazon, where cocoa is institutionally promoted as an SBE alternative. We conduct an exploratory, mixed-methods study combining a geospatial analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) change (2020–2025, random forest classification) with a qualitative analysis drawing on participatory mapping and 87 semi-structured interviews with farmers, cooperatives, buyers, and institutional actors. Using a gradient framework, we read LULC transitions and farmers’ land use practices along an agro-extractivism–SBE continuum. The cocoa frontier emerges as a hybrid geography. The landscape is predominantly stable but internally reorganizing: anthropogenic forest declines while full-sun monoculture expands over pasture, with intensification concentrated in peri-urban areas and restoration in remote ones. Land use practices form five recurring configurations, two firmly anchored at the socio-biodiversity or agro-extractivist poles and three whose alignment with the SBE depends on access to markets, knowledge, and institutions. We argue that the frontier contestation unfolds not only between distinct economies but within the cocoa economy itself, and we identify the policy areas relevant to sustaining SBE-oriented practices in the Transamazon. More broadly, this study suggests that the classification of Amazonian forest-based economies as inherent alternatives to agro-extractivism should be treated as an empirical question rather than an assumption. Full article

Although rural public cultural spaces in China have expanded rapidly, many struggle to maintain stable and sustained public participation. Taking Sanchalu Village in Wuhan as a case, this study examines how multi-actor interactions transform fragmented and short-term participation into a resilient participatory structure. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the study analyzed semi-structured interviews with 13 government officials, village cadres, enterprise representatives, and villagers, supplemented by participant observation and documentary materials. The findings identify an adaptive linkage process in which external resource embedding activates participation, village-level organizations promote the institutionalization of participation through incentive mechanisms and participation channels, internal and external resources are integrated through trust-based reciprocity, and multi-actor collaboration stabilizes governance arrangements. Accordingly, participation resilience develops through sustained participation, organizational mediation, and institutional safeguards rather than through infrastructure provision alone. This study clarifies how participation resilience supports the social sustainability of rural public cultural spaces and offers practical guidance for developing demand-responsive, locally embedded, and institutionally sustained participation mechanisms. Full article

Sustainable tourism in oasis landscapes requires governance approaches that go beyond generic destination-growth models and standardized sustainability checklists. In living cultural landscapes such as Al-Ahsa Oasis, tourism development is inseparable from water systems, palm-grove agriculture, rural livelihoods, heritage values, climate stress, visitor behavior, and institutional accountability. This paper develops a governance framework for sustainable tourism in Al-Ahsa Oasis, Saudi Arabia, a UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscape. Methodologically, it is a conceptual framework-development study based on structured critical review and contextual synthesis. It critically interprets international sustainable tourism, heritage management, visitor management, and sustainable investment frameworks in relation to recent Al-Ahsa-specific evidence on rural tourism, resident satisfaction, farm-tourist behavior, rural lodges, land-cover change, and World Heritage governance. The study proposes a six-dimensional framework structured around cultural landscape stewardship, water-sensitive ecological governance, agricultural landscape continuity and rural accommodation regulation, community benefit and local enterprise, climate-responsive visitor management and interpretation, and monitoring and institutional accountability. These dimensions are treated as interdependent governance fields rather than separate checklist categories. The framework is further operationalized through an indicator and governance matrix linking suggested indicators, data sources, governance mechanisms, and responsible actors. The paper contributes by reframing sustainable oasis tourism as an adaptive governance problem rather than a technical exercise in applying predefined criteria. It provides an evidence-informed basis for planning, monitoring, stakeholder deliberation, policy refinement, and future empirical testing in Al-Ahsa and comparable arid cultural landscapes. Full article

The adoption of Circular Economy approaches in agriculture offers opportunities to transform agricultural waste into valuable resources. This study was conducted within the TANGO-Circular project, which implemented Rural Lab training activities in four European countries: Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. A structured questionnaire was administered to participants involved in these activities. Overall, 197 questionnaires were collected, of which 195 valid responses were included in the final quantitative analysis. Respondents included farmers, technicians, students, and other actors connected to agricultural and sustainability-related contexts. The results indicate that, despite differences in sample composition across countries, no statistically significant differences were observed in awareness and interest toward Circular Economy practices within the analyzed sample. Conversely, statistically significant differences emerged in gender distribution, professional profile, and perceived barriers among countries. Overall, respondents exhibited a generally positive attitude toward agricultural waste valorization and a high level of interest in further training activities. However, key barriers were identified, including lack of technical knowledge, limited institutional support, lack of awareness, and high initial costs. These findings suggest that the adoption of Circular Economy practices in agriculture requires not only positive attitudes, but also targeted training, accessible support services, and institutional and logistical frameworks adapted to local contexts. Full article

The revitalization of idle rural homesteads constitutes a key policy instrument for promoting rural revitalization and enhancing rural household income. However, existing studies predominantly adopt a single-actor or policy-instrument perspective and lack a systematic examination of the complex coupling relationships among multiple actors, resource endowments, and institutional environments. Adopting a rural operational perspective, this study explores how internal and external elements interact to reshape rural systems and identifies the configurational paths through which multiple actors’ behavioral logics drive efficient idle homestead revitalization. Drawing on symbiosis theory, we constructed a systemic analytical framework. A mixed-methods design combining fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis and case studies of 35 typical villages in Zhejiang Province was employed. The findings reveal that (1) there exist four equifinal high-performance paths—market-driven, government-led, multi-actor co-governance, and endogenous development; (2) efficient revitalization does not rely on any single actor but depends on the dynamic alignment between actor behavioral logics, resource endowments, and the institutional environment; and (3) a robust policy environment can compensate for resource endowment deficiencies, whereas superior resource conditions allow for optimal efficiency, even with streamlined actor participation. Theoretically, this study extends symbiosis theory to the field of rural governance. Practically, it offers transferable governance solutions for Global South countries confronting rural decline and addressing rural poverty. Full article

Background: This study examines how humanitarian supply chain cooperation in Morocco may evolve toward 2030, focusing on the roles of donors, volunteers, and digital technologies in strengthening coordination, operational performance, and resilience in crisis environments. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining qualitative data collected through interviews and focus groups with 57 humanitarian actors and quantitative data obtained from 1183 logistics professionals. Regression analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and qualitative foresight techniques were employed to explore current cooperation patterns and future humanitarian supply chain dynamics. Results: The findings indicate that donors are increasingly expected to support digital coordination, predictive planning, and capacity-building initiatives rather than acting solely as financial contributors, while volunteers continue to play a critical role in adaptive and decentralized operations, particularly in rural areas. The results further suggest that digital technologies may enhance visibility, responsiveness, and collaboration when integrated into human-centered governance systems. Conclusions: The study proposes an integrated socio-technical framework for understanding humanitarian supply chain cooperation toward 2030 and provides practical insights for developing resilient, collaborative, and future-ready humanitarian logistics systems in emerging economies. Full article

Implementing technological change in rural or culturally distinct settings requires moving beyond the modernization bias that treats Western technical solutions as universally applicable. This article develops a process-based reflection on culturally grounded co-design for sustainable technology, drawing on social design, just transition principles, and appropriate technology. Rather than evaluating final project outcomes, the article examines how technology and social organization can be approached as context-specific practices that must be negotiated, adapted, and maintained with local actors. The discussion is informed by the O-Waste Project in The Gambia, which is used as an illustrative case to examine the role of local councils, women’s organizations, market committees, and implementing partners in shaping technological adoption. By emphasizing vernacular knowledge, locally maintainable systems, and participatory decision-making, the article argues that sustainable innovation depends on technical performance as well as cultural legitimacy, institutional trust, and procedural justice. The analysis suggests that development in diverse cultural contexts requires a careful balance between external technical expertise and community appropriation. The O-Waste case therefore offers process-based insights into how sustainable technologies can be introduced without reducing local communities to passive recipients of modernization. Full article

Northeast China is one of China’s major commodity grain bases and plays a strategic role in national food security. Against the background of rural population outflow and agricultural modernization, new agricultural business entities (NABEs), including family farms, farmers’ cooperatives, and agribusinesses, have become important actors in reshaping agricultural production organization. Based on registration data for 2014, 2018, and 2023, this study uses kernel density estimation (KDE), standard deviational ellipse (SDE) analysis, spatial autocorrelation analysis, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) to examine the spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of NABEs in Northeast China. The results show that: (1) NABEs expanded rapidly from 2014 to 2023 and became increasingly concentrated in agriculturally advantageous plain areas. (2) Family farms showed the fastest expansion, farmers’ cooperatives had the widest spatial coverage, and agribusinesses were mainly concentrated around transport corridors and market nodes. (3) In terms of industrial structure, crop-production entities remained dominant, followed by animal husbandry entities, while forestry, fishery, and agricultural support service entities accounted for relatively small shares; however, their numbers continued to increase. (4) The OLS results showed that the reclamation rate and road network density had relatively stable associations with the spatial distribution of multiple entity types, whereas economic development, science and technology investment, and fiscal support showed differentiated relationships across entity types and regions. (5) The MGWR results further reveal spatial heterogeneity in the effects of driving factors. These findings provide empirical evidence for type-specific cultivation and differentiated policy support for NABEs in major grain-producing areas. Full article

Digital transformation has become an essential component of sustainable rural development, yet substantial inequalities persist in how communities access, adopt, and benefit from digital technologies. Understanding these disparities requires not only information about technological resources but also knowledge of the relational structures through which information, support, and opportunities circulate. This article presents a reproducible synthetic socio-digital network dataset designed to support the analysis of digital gaps in community-based tourism (CBT) environments. Rather than containing original respondent-level observations, the repository was computationally reconstructed from aggregate statistics derived from field studies conducted in three rural communities in the province of Guayas, Ecuador: Bucay (5 de Septiembre), Manglares Churute, and Ruta de los Chirijos. All node-level records, survey variables, and support relationships included in the repository were synthetically generated to preserve aggregate community characteristics while protecting participant confidentiality and preventing individual re-identification. The repository contains synthetic actor metadata, reconstructed socio-digital variables, directed support networks, graph representations in interoperable formats, and precomputed Social Network Analysis (SNA) indicators. The dataset includes 90 synthetic actors, more than one thousand generated support interactions distributed across multiple socio-digital dimensions, machine-readable metadata, and reusable scripts for preprocessing, validation, graph construction, and metric computation. The represented dimensions include financial assistance, training support, information exchange, technological support, social media promotion, institutional collaboration, trust, and emotional closeness. To facilitate reuse, all resources are distributed in standardized formats compatible with NetworkX, Gephi, Neo4j, and graph-learning frameworks. The repository follows FAIR principles and includes documentation intended to support transparency, reproducibility, and methodological benchmarking. Potential applications include social network analysis, graph mining, graph neural networks, digital inequality research, computational social science, community resilience studies, and educational activities. By providing an openly documented synthetic dataset and reproducible computational workflow, the repository contributes to the study of socio-digital systems, privacy-preserving data sharing, and community-level digital transformation processes. Full article

Metropolitan fringe villages are important interfaces where urban–rural factor flows, urban functional spillovers, and spatial restructuring converge. However, how spatial governance shapes the evolution of their territorial spatial patterns remains insufficiently explained. Taking Donglin Village in Chengdu, China, as a case study, this paper integrates field investigation, in-depth interviews, and remote-sensing image interpretation to examine the mechanisms and governance logic underlying the evolution of territorial spatial patterns in metropolitan fringe villages. The findings show that the spatial evolution of Donglin Village is not merely a process of land-use change, but a dynamic process characterized by the coordinated restructuring of material, functional, and social spatial patterns. Spatial governance operates through three interrelated mechanisms: element integration promotes the reorganization of spatial resources and the reshaping of material space; functional synergy facilitates rural multifunctional transformation and spatial value enhancement; and benefit sharing helps stabilize actor relationships and institutionalize the distribution of development gains. Policy and institutional arrangements do not constitute an independent mechanism, but instead provide boundary constraints, rule support, and implementation guarantees for the above mechanisms. The case of Donglin Village further demonstrates that spatial governance connects spatial restructuring, functional reorganization, and benefit coordination into a continuous process of territorial spatial optimization. This study clarifies the mechanisms through which spatial governance shapes the evolution of territorial spatial patterns in metropolitan fringe villages and provides implications for spatial optimization in similar villages under the context of urban–rural integrated development. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dengue prevention in rural Amazonian communities is shaped by knowledge, household feasibility, sociocultural dynamics, institutional continuity, and trusted communication. This study explored behavioral, sociocultural, and institutional barriers to dengue prevention and control in rural communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Methods: An exploratory qualitative study with an ethnographic orientation, informed by the Communication for Behavioural Impact (COMBI) framework, was conducted in three anonymized rural settlements in San Martín, Peru. The qualitative corpus included 120 adults, 84 in-depth interviews, six focus group discussions with 36 participants, 22 household and community observation records, 13 institutional communication materials, and seven local operational documents. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach and triangulated across participant profiles, settlements, and sources. Results: Dengue was widely recognized as a mosquito-borne disease, but the central finding was a gap between general awareness and practical, routine application. Participants’ understanding of breeding sites, warning signs, and feasible source reduction was uneven. Prevention was mainly reactive, increasing after nearby cases, alerts, or fumigation, but weakening when risk was not visible. Irregular water supply, water storage, waste accumulation, gendered domestic labor, competing household priorities, reluctance to confront neighbors, and intermittent institutional action limited sustained prevention. Fumigation was perceived as the most visible institutional response, while communication was more credible when mediated by trusted local actors. Conclusions: Dengue prevention requires locally feasible household practices, safe water-storage guidance, trusted communicators, neighborhood coordination, continuous pre-outbreak engagement, and intersectoral support. Full article

The commercialization of Km 0 products has emerged as a strategic approach to strengthening rural economies, promoting sustainability, and countering depopulation in European territories. This study examines the motivations and perceptions of three key stakeholder groups—farmers, restaurant businesses, and public officials—regarding rural permanence and the role of Km 0 commercialization. Based on original survey data collected in Spain (2024), the research adopts a comparative perspective to identify convergences and divergences across these actors. Results show that farmers perceive Km 0 as vital for the survival of family farms and the preservation of territorial identity, while restaurants view it as a competitive advantage to ensure freshness and authenticity in gastronomy. Public officials frame Km 0 as a governance tool for rural revitalization and demographic stabilization. Despite these different orientations, all groups converge on valuing quality of life, contact with nature, and sustainability. Structural constraints such as inadequate infrastructure, limited digital connectivity, and generational renewal remain significant barriers across contexts. Situating these findings within the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the agroecological transition framework, this article suggests that Km 0 commercialization holds potential as an instrument for sustainability, territorial resilience, and food sovereignty in contemporary rural Europe, while acknowledging that the exploratory nature of this study calls for caution in extrapolating these findings beyond the specific contexts examined. Full article

Participatory research with children has expanded globally; however, existing reviews predominantly focus on Western and urban contexts, offering limited insight into rural Latin American settings. A critical literature review was conducted to examine participatory research with children and adolescents in rural Latin America between 2018 and 2025, focusing on the reported sociodemographic characteristics, research phases and degree of children’s participation. Sixteen empirical studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that while participatory methods are widely used, decision-making authority remains concentrated in adults during early stages, with children’s involvement often limited to implementation and dissemination. The analysis reveals that the redistribution of power operates across three interrelated levels: (1) structural–methodological conditions, characterized by institutional and territorial pre-structuring and the invisibility of sociodemographic interactions; (2) relational–community dynamics, involving community hierarchies, cultural norms, and institutional actors; and (3) experiential–child engagement, where shifting roles reflect the varying degrees of agency children exercise throughout the process. Addressing these levels in an integrated manner is critical, as it is through their alignment that the redistribution of power can move beyond procedural inclusion toward more meaningful forms of participation. In this sense, meaningful participation requires a transition in which children are able to recognize themselves as active social agents and meaning-makers who can influence and shape the trajectory of research. Building on this, the study argues that such involvement depends not only on redistributing power but on employing analytical frameworks that resonate with children’s lived realities and their diverse social positions within rural territories. Full article

This article reassesses agrarian expansion in al-Andalus between the tenth and twelfth centuries within the broader context of medieval economic growth in the western Mediterranean. It challenges the idea of a uniform “Islamic Green Revolution” by combining archaeological, archaeobotanical, landscape, and textual evidence to examine three key aspects: the uneven chronology of agrarian change, the social actors involved, and the consequences of commercialization and fiscal intensification. The study shows that agrarian transformation was gradual and not driven by a single group. Peasant communities played a central role in cultivating drylands, managing small-scale irrigation, and developing local exchange networks that strengthened regional markets. Meanwhile, state institutions and urban elites promoted large irrigation systems, invested in market-oriented estates, and integrated rural production into fiscal and commercial structures. These processes stimulated economic growth and increased productivity but also led to land concentration, dispossession, and rising social tensions. By emphasizing the interaction between peasant agency, elite investment, and extractive political systems, the article argues for an integrated interpretation that links growth, inequality, and conflict, offering a more nuanced understanding of Andalusi agrarian landscapes. Full article

Family farming (FF) in Paraguay faces structural challenges related to institutional fragmentation, territorial inequalities, and limited coordination among stakeholders. In this context, the department of Itapúa provides a relevant case for analyzing how the relational structure of actors shapes territorial governance dynamics. This study examines how the network of actors involved in FF is configured and what this structure reveals about coordination processes, using a Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach. Based on 40 surveys conducted between April and May 2024, a directed and weighted network comprising 35 actors was constructed, including institutional, technical, productive, and market-related stakeholders. The analysis focuses on the intensity and structure of relationships shaping flows of information, resources, and territorial organization. The results reveal a relatively cohesive but functionally differentiated network. Technical actors and public institutions—particularly municipalities and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG)—occupy central and intermediary positions that facilitate coordination and information flows. In contrast, individual producers and market vendors remain in peripheral positions, limiting their influence within the network. The network structure combines elements of bonding and bridging social capital, although the limited presence of weak ties may constrain innovation and the incorporation of new actors. These findings point to a form of distributed territorial governance characterized by interdependence among actors, but also by structural asymmetries and coordination gaps between functional domains. Based on the results, the study highlights the need to strengthen coordination mechanisms, improve the integration of peripheral actors, and promote new connections between less articulated groups. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence on territorial governance in FF systems in Paraguay and demonstrates the value of SNA as a tool for analyzing coordination processes in rural contexts in Latin America. Full article