LAND: Redefining Rural Resources; Local capacity-building in sustainable management of cultural historic environments of mountain summer f

One of the major cultural historic asset that hillside and mountain regions in Norway offer is mountain summer farming (”seter”). Today their owners find themselves in the intersection between several tendencies: agricultural readjustments leading to eit her reduction or discontinuance of mountain summer farming – a developing tourism industry appreciating national heritage products – and expanding areas of modern holiday homes and sport-centres in central mountain regions. The project will analyse the op portunities as well as the threats these important cultural historic areas are facing, and through empirical examples bring forward suggestions towards sustainable use and management. Sustainability reflects a growing concern for the environment. While th e environmental impact of tourism has been given attention for some time, focus is now directed towards an increasing tendency to develop new attractions in former remote mountain areas where the ecological balance as well as a declining tradition of moun tain summer farming needs special consideration. When such vulnerable resources are being redefined according to modern economical opportunities and settings, the planning process as well as the cultural environments must be scrutinised to add to the ide ntification, understanding and possible solutions to potential subsequent problems which the process of value creation may arise. The methods and sources which are being applied, are founded on an interdisciplinary basis (geography, planning, archaeology , ethnology). The results will be published in international journals as well as in user-orientated magazines. Emphasis will be placed on building up international contacts, and an international workshop will be arranged where focus is directed towards en vironmental effects as well as challenges arising when active farming is being combined with tourism.