ways to preserve their highly valued landscapes and resources. The resulting challenges underline the
general thrust for integrated policies. By adding the dimension of extreme topography, often resulting
in low population densities, the need for such policies even becomes more acute.
2. Mountain areas in Europe: Between core and periphery
Mountain areas represent approximately 20% of emerged surfaces in the world. In the EU they
occupy 30% of the territory, with 20% of the UAA (Utilised agricultural area) and more than 25% of
the farm units (EUROMONTANA 1998, p. 141). In some European States like Austria,
Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal they are even much more important and cover more
than 50% of the territory. As consolidated data for this proportion does not exist, figure 1 presents
the share of the UAA in the mountain areas of Europe. It shows that in large parts of Europe
agriculture has to cope with such unfavourable conditions.
Historically, the mountain areas have been seen as remote and peripheral regions. They were
strongly characterised by economies limited to small areas, defined by their specific topographical
situations. Life in those communities also was marked by features of isolation and exchange to other
regions and the flatlands was restricted. This view was not just relevant in the very sparsely
populated mountain areas at the periphery but was also attributed to central-located mountain areas
with considerable settlement densities such as great parts of the Alps.
If adequate at any time, meanwhile this picture does not hold true for most of the European mountain
regions any more. With population growth, a tremendous sectoral shift in the employment structure,
improvement in infrastructures and increased accessibility of the remote areas, mountain areas can
not be seen any longer as just a “sane world” at the periphery of our countries, and economies
(Batzing 1993). However, this has been one of the predominant viewpoints when tourism to this area
by urban people developed over the last century. Up to the recent revival of mountain issues starting
in the 1970s/1980s, especially in the German-speaking countries of the Alps, the fascination for them
was built around the idea to preserve the natural landscape as a reservoir and refuge for urban
people (Stremlow 1998).