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SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE AND TOURISM ACTIVITIES IN MOUNTAIN REGIONS
© Terziev V.K.*, Arabska E.% Grigorova Z.*
Vasil Levski National Military University, Bulgaria, Veliko Tarnovo,
University of Аgribusiness and Rural Development, Bulgaria, Plovdiv
The paper presents opportunities for sustainable development of mountain regions in the Republic of Bulgaria analyzing good practices and providing recommendations for future development. The most important risks in the examined sectors in their joint development are considered and classified which is used as a basis for the proposed model of risk management in integrated agriculture and tourism activities in mountain regions accenting planning, communication and information activities, monitoring and control.
Key words: sustainability, risk, management, integration.
Introduction
Nowadays, when discussions on economic, social and ecological sustaina-bility put the most pressing questions for the future development of the planet and the humanity as a whole, some of the most prominent problems are particularly connected to the development of the regions suffering the problems of abandonment regarding population and land. Among the factors influencing regional development should be noticed the following: market orientation, standard wage rate, competitiveness, structure of qualification, development of regional employment structure, soft factors considering life quality (Heidelbach, 2002).
As specific areas, mountains cover 20 % of the planet, they are the home of 10 % of the world's human population, provide 50 % of the freshwater for home consumption, irrigation of crop lands or industrial use (Hussain et al., 2005). Additionally they provide essential resources and storehouses of genetic diversity. Being under severe threats of climate change, deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources and unsustainable agricultural practices, the final results impact not only environment, but also economic and social life in these regions. Mountain areas are on the second place after coasts and islands as popular tourist destinations attracting tourist for many reasons as climate, clean air, unique landscapes and wildlife, scenic beauty, local culture, history and heritage, and the opportunity to experience snow and participate in snow-based or nature-related activities and sports [20].
Mountain regions are specifically touched by the urbanization processes and new approaches towards the economic sectors that could be developed in them
* Prof. D.Sc Ph.D Dipl. Eng. Vasil Levski National Military University.
* Assist. Prof. University of Аgribusiness and Rural Development. " University of Аgribusiness and Rural Development.
are needed integrating environmental aspects and local specificities [1]. The potential of agriculture and forestry development in mountain regions, because of the essence of resources they have, should be considered on one side, and the opportunities of the integration to sustainable tourism activities, on the other, which would provide the added value needed but also the impacts should be considered very carefully. Mountain regions' development is further influenced by the globalization challenges and the strivings for sustainable development and overcoming the uneven development of rural areas, and particularly mountain regions being part of the last ones.
Sustainable tourism, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, nature conservation, local crafts, etc. are viewed as opportunities for mountain regions' development in discussions on conceptual issues of destination management as: land use planning, zoning control, business permits, access control, etc. putting the accent on the accessibility impacting social inclusion, life chances, economic development, and quality of living (Guzik, 2010). The need of holistic and integrated approaches in mountain regions' development is underlined in a long-term scope, as well as strategic, planning, cooperation, monitoring and risk management (Guzik, 2010).
The significant territorial and demographic discrepancies in mountain regions' management presume the elaboration of specific approaches and instruments in regional, local, national and community policies (Patarchanov, 2013), considering spatial peculiarities. More attention is needed for sustainable development and restoration of environment in mountain areas because of the economic backwardness and fragility of the terrain forcing sometomes migration due to food insecurity. Looking for economically viable crops, sustainable horticultural farming is inevitable in mountain areas for maintaining environmental restoration and food security1. The need of planning activities in a nature protective and integrated approach is underlined (Deniz et al., 2011) considering alternative tourism potentials.
Development of rural regions in the new program period 2014-2020 in Bulgaria, including much of the mountain and difficult to be reached regions, will be marked by the special support measures in the field of environmental protection, good agricultural practice and raise of attractiveness not only through encouragement of agricultural activities, forestry and protected areas but also through diversification of activities, incl. tourism development. The foreseen integrated approaches should be substantiated by a number of analyses before establishing regional policies and strategies.
Current study makes some analyses of good practices in literature, weak points and problems for mountain regions' development in Bulgaria and con-
1 Sustainable Horticultural Farming in the Mountain Regions - A Case for the Pindar Basin of Central Himalaya.
cludes on the main risks in the integrated development of agriculture and tourism in mountain regions underlining the importance of risk management.
Data and methods
The investigation makes a deskstop study of the literature in the field of mountain regions' development especially concerning agriculture and tourism. Analyzing presented good practices and misktakes, some of the most prominent weak points in mountain regions development are formulated along with relevant problems, as well as main risks.
Research findings
Mountain regions are places for rest and inspiration but also a huge source of natural resources and agricultural produce which is the basis of employment and incomes for mountain population. Emerging insustainability of current patterns of resources use and production practices regarding understanding and identification of factors and processes contributing to sustainability / insustainability of mountain agriculture and related activities, basic issues affecting long-term sustaina-bility of mountain regions, agriculture, mountain farmers and their strategies and implications, innovations in different sectors, resource characterization and zona-tion are considered and success stories are presented in relation to sustainable development of sustainable mountain agriculture [19].
Purposeful policies supporting the overcoming of limitations are imposed by the specific geographical peculiarities and climate change - the main resons for making more expensive every one activity. The farms in mountains are usually oriented to the high quality of production and natural resources management favoring preservation of biodiversity and landscapes [6]. Taking into consideration the significant impacts (both positive and negative) of agriculture on environment, the investigations of the forms, factors and effectiveness of eco-management in agricultural holdings in the country as a whole and of different types should be expanded and embrace all the farms in the country (Bashev and Vanev, 2014). Reviewing recent trends in the growing regional economy affecting farming, the some characteristics of growth in population and non-farm employment that influences land use and farmers' businesses, as well as use of recources, make the adoption of sustainable agriculture more feasible. On the other hand sustainable agricultural practices mey help farming to remain economically viable (Erickson et al., 2002).
In last few decades the development in Bulgaria is directed towards the decrease of significance of agriculture, especially in the less-productive areas as the mountains, and a shift to the sector of services accompanied by the urbanization processes and negative demographic trends. It should be however noticed that this is not the case only for Bulgaria. The risks of abandonment of mountainous areas and the impacts of urbanization are also discussed for Switzerland for example in a study (Price et al., 2015) presenting different scenarios for risk areas
for urbanization and land abandonment (Fig. 1): globalization and low growth, high growth and pressure scenario, global cooperation, and self-sufficiency, which are presented below in a more general way.
Globalization
Low growth Low concern about environmental issues Low support for conservation and agricultural subsidies
More global
Global cooperation
Low growth High environmental concerns Shift toward resource effi-
ciency
-cr
Less intervention
More intervention
-a
Heterogeneous word, regionally centered growth
High economic and population growth driven by immigration High urban sprawl Low support for conservation and agricultural subsidies
More regional
Self-sufficiency
Moderate growth High levels of environmental concern High support for subsidies New regional centers
Fig. 1. Scenario storyline axes (According to Price at al., 2015 with modifications)
Whether some of those would be the case for mountain development in Bulgaria it is now difficult to say as far as the country is at the beginning of a new program period still establishing relevant policies, strategies and program documents dealing with the problems of sustainable, inclusive as intelligent growth [5] and putting very general goals which however should be entered into practice by the proper detailed planning and distribution of responsibilities, as well as funding activities.
The country's future development is underlined by the aims of knowledge -based economy, smart specialization, entrepreneurship encouragement and small and medium-size enterprises, incl. small farms. The farms having up to 10 ha represent 94 % of all in the country and small farms dominate in less-favored and mountain regions which contribute to the preservation of landscape and local culture and provide the predominant part of the work places and incomes, thus having a potential for the balanced social and territorial development of the country [13]. Furthermore, the agricultural lands with high natural value in Bulgaria are mainly distributed in semi-mountain and mountain regions considered from the points of view of biodiversity preservation and the establishment of NATURA 2000. On the other hand the development of tourism is viewed as a potential which is not
used although at the moment the national tourist product is dominated by the mass tourism (sea and mountain) which are characterized by the negative impacts of the tourism expansion [13].
Investigating structure, performance and sustainability of agriculture in mountain regions through population growth, employment growth and structural characteristics of mountain farms - size, products, farmers, farm typology, following issues are considered: conservation programs and practices, alternative marketing and sources of income, production practices, farm financial performance and motivation (Erickson et al., 2002).
Examining mountain tourism by focusing on economic, ecological and social dimensions of sustainable development, presentation of important case studies suggesting attractive examples and mistakes to avoid aims at inspiring both policy makers and practitioners to move towards sustainable tourism development in mountain regions, benefiting local communities while inspiring visitors from around the world [21].
The potential of tourism development in mountain regions and its socioeconomic and environmental impacts are discussed in a study pointing out some of the indicators of tourism-induced change (Table 1).
Identification of tourism potentials is closely related to the achievement of destination competitiveness on tourism market and future actions should be related to promotion of tourist products within the regions, respect of principles for sustainable development, protection of natural environment, urgency of defined policy, priorities and activities (Nestoroska, 2012).
Table 1
Indicators of tourism-induced changes (Modified by Nepal, 2002)
Tourism as a conservation tool Tourism as a social catalyst Tourism as an income and employment opportunity
- Sustainable management of resources - Environmental improvement - Local awareness about environmental and social probems - Biodiversity conservation efforts - Strengthening local culture and heritage - Substansial revenues for government to invest in conservation and development - Local community development projects - Upward mobility of those in the lower social strata - Increased self-reliance, confidence and motivation for community development - Increased local participation in conservation - Participation in planning processes - Redefinition of local economy structure - Return of young people to villages - Local economic benefirs, particularly to strategically located villages - Some economic benefits to neighbouring regions - spread effect - Some impacts on other economic sectors
Responsible tourism is «the most economically, socially and environmentally efficient approach, a real opportunity for exploiting and promoting local products and services» (Petrovici, 2014). Responsible tourism's goals could be formulated
as follows: stimulating interest in nature, traditions and communities, respect towards environment minimizing the nagtive and maximizing the negative impacts (Petrovici, 2014) through harmonization between nature and traditional living environment, unique customs and lifestyle of communities as part of the tourist attractions.
Studying challenges and opportunities for tourism development in mountain regions good practices are presented in several sections: cultural diversity and social change, social equity and economic development, environmental resources and management, policies and social institutions for sustainable mountain tourism, concluding on «moving from hopes and fears to sustainable realities» [21]. Considering tourism and promotion in the aims of building a positive image and increasing the visibility of tourist destinations, public relations «may represent a bridge towards change, a means for adjusting to the new attitudes triggered by change» (Petrovici, 2014).
Considering that the tourist product is a conventional designation of the complex of tourist services offered at a common price, the product «rural tou-rism» is about the creation of packages of services, systems of reservation and monitoring targeted to certain groups, and the development of agrotourist market in Bulgaria requires the consolidation of rural tourism objects in a network and a trade marl guaranteeing quality and trust in the establishment of a specific agro-tourist product assuring improvement of social and economic conditions in rural regions, diversification of activities in agriculture and high life standard, as well as capacity building and avoidance of rural abandonment (Nikolova et al., 2010).
Diversification of agricultural producers' activities including agritourism is an opportunity for stabilization of incomes and more. There are numerous benefits from the development of agritourism: it may strengthen local economy, create job opportunities and new businesses; develop and promote training and certification programs to introduce young people to agriculture and environment (Privitera, 2010). Regarding good practices and effective implementation of protection of environment for integrated rural development the best example in Bulgaria is the networking between organic production, wildlife and tourism in the New Thracian gold project (http://newthraciangold.eu/).
Regional weak points concerning mountain regions in Bulgaria four key fields are determined (Heidelbach, 2002, with modifications): population, plant and animal production, forestry and investments bearing a number of problems some of wich are underlined on Table 2.
Risks are summarized in three main groups: risks on mountain regions, resources and population, risks on agriculture and tourism and risks on tourists and demand (Table 3). Some of the risks are the case for the first two groups: unsustainable practices, human recources qualification and background, personal characteristics and convictions, motivation, impacts of tourism and tourists, while the accessibility and safety risks are in force for all three groups.
Table 2
Regional weak points (According to Heidelbach, 2002, with modifications)
Field Problem
Population Age structure
Agriculture as dominant economic sector
Educational level
Sex distribution
Environmental conditions
Plant and animal production Climate and soil factors
Plant protection
Agriculture mechanization
Limited variety of crops
Races
Processing and marketing opportunities
Forestry Value
Protection
Investments Financial means
Know-how
Table 3
Classification of risks in the development of agriculture and tourism sustainable activities in mountain regions
Risks on mountain regions, resources and population Risks on agriculture and tourism Risks on tourists and demand
Population growth Business risks - production, management, marketing Individual perceptions
Un/employment growth Seasonality of production / demand Destination image
Environmental pressure Policy implementation risks Informational provision
Macroeconomic policies Financial performance Political situation
Unsustainable practices Macroeconomic situation
Human resources qualification and background Security issues
Personal characteristics and convictions Social risks
Motivation Cultural risks
Tourism and tourists' impacts Fair competition
Accessibility
Safety risks - natural disasters, weather conditions, climate change, crime, terrorism, etc.
In the discussions about future development of mountain regions and the opportunities of application of sustainable practices of joint development of agriculture and tourism as being the main economic sectors having great potentials for avoidance of abandonment and low development, macro and micro dimensions of economic and environmental aspects of sustainable development should be considered, as well as the issues connected to regional accessibilty, population and labor force mobility, and social impacts.
Discussion
Development of agriculture and tourism is scrutinized from the the point of view of the need of reducing negative economic, social and environmental im-
pacts on one hand, and on the other of the need of bigger incomes for local population in rural regions. Sustainable growth predisposes the inclusion of local community in planning and decicion taking concerning support to economic development, environmental protection and culture and historical heritage conservation. Rural development policies triggered by the fast expanding urbanization processes and rural abandonment consider sustainable / responsible practices in agriculture and tourism development focused on preservation of environment and local communities but also on building confidence in the society as a whole.
Considering mountain regions from the point of view of sustianbale development, Adelboden declaration on sustainable agriculture and rural development in mountain regions recommends policy and actions in political, legal and institutional, social and cultural, natural, economic environment, capacity building and knowledge to be improved accounting for the specific exposure of mountains to poverty, marginalization and conflicts, as well as their competitive advantages and interdependencies with lowlands.
Thus, future development of mountain regions requires a holistic and integrated approach in policies and strategies development taking account of the risks and risk management, adopting long-term perspectives, involving all stakeholders, producing and sharing knowledge and providing continuous monitoring.
The proposed model of risk management in integrated agriculture and tourism activities in mountain regions is focused on the need of good planning, provi-sionof information and communication, underlying the importance of feedback, monitoring and control (Fig. 2).
Information
Identify potentials Organize Feedback
Identify risks Manage risks Monitoring
Analyze Implement plan Control
Plan Do Check
Communication
Fig. 2. Proposed model of risk management in integrated agriculture and tourism activities in mountain regions
The above discussions support the main recommendation of the need of an in-tergated strategy (based on national development, regional development and national agricultural, forestry and tourism policies) for sustainable mountain regions' devel-
opment based on risk assessment and management and assuring an effective system of monitoring and control, encouraging sustainable invetsments and fair competition conditions, improvement in infrastructure and accessibility, use of modern communication and information technology, and educational capacity building.
Conclusion
For sustainable development of mountain regions first of all there is a need of assuring encouraging environment through businesses development and targeted investments in specific «green» activitities increasing capacities for better financial performance. An integrated strategy for mountain regions sustainable development should be developed focusing on risk assessment and management and establishment of early warning and relief systems for monitoring and mitigation of threats. The significance of provision of information and assurance of motivation should be considered along with the training and educational activities targeted at building specific capacities. The policy on tourism development should be based on identifying tourism potential of the mountain regions avoiding spontaneous tourism development and increasing competitiveness of mountain destinations in the field of alternative forms of tourism experiencing sustainable practices in preservation of natural values and cultural heritage, raising attractiveness and fostering economic and social development, applying good practices and specific promotion activities.
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ФАКТОРЫ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ ПРОМЫШЛЕННЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ
© Тюкавкин И.Н.*
Самарский государственный университет, г. Самара
В настоящее время особое внимание уделяется отраслям, оказывающим наибольшее влияние на экономику государства и социальное развитие общества в целом. Промышленность создаёт значительную часть валового внутреннего продукта и является одним из основных источников наполнений бюджетов всех уровней, а также способствует укреплению позиций государства на мировых рынках. Указанные обстоятельства обусловливают необходимость повышения эффективности функционирования промышленных структур, в том числе за счёт смещения акцентов на инновационную составляющую развития промышленности.
Ключевые слова факторы, проблемы, стратегия, развитие, промышленность, предприятие, функционирование, эффективность, цели, показатели, инновации.
На сегодняшний день Российская Федерация нуждается в кардинальных преобразованиях промышленного сектора экономики, обусловленных множеством причин. Влияние глобальной конкуренции на мировых рынках, связанное с активным развитием мировой экономики, вынуждает все страны обратиться к модернизации внутриэкономических процессов, поиску
* Аспирант кафедры Экономики.
