Redefining Rural Resources: Local capacity-building in sustainable management of cultural historic environments of mountain summer farming – Omdefinering av lokale ressurser: Lokal kapasitetsbygging i bærekraftig forvaltning av seterområder som kulturmiljø

Over the last decades tourism involving open air activities has conquered a strong niche. A difficult balance exists between developing sustainable rural tourism in accordance to the cultural historic surroundings and on the other hand offering the necessary modern adaptation which tourism requires. This project is focusing on the mountain summer farming (seter) landscape in Norway. A mountain summer farm is a location in high lying areas (above the permanent farm), with good access to natural pastures, where the animals are taken during the summer months. The mountain summer farm constitutes a cultural environment with buildings and other built structures (fences etc) and surrounding areas (pasture, mowing land). Today the owners of mountain summer farms find themselves in the intersection between several tendencies: agricultural readjustments leading to either 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 intend to analyse the opportunities as well as the threats these important cultural historic areas are facing, and through empirical data exemplify and suggest sustainable methods to safeguard valuable cultural resources. Of special interest is to examine what role local actors play in the use and management of these environments, the dynamics of different types of knowledge, networks or relations between the different actors involved, and the degree of local capacity building.