The COST project MARGISTAR was approved in May 2022 (COST Action CA21125) and the networking of partners started with the Management Committee Meeting in November 2022. The COST Action is being carried out in 26 European participating countries with the aim of supporting networking between research institutions and practice partners who intend to overcome the marginalization of mountain areas. As a COST activity, only networking activities are funded, not the research work itself. Innovative actions will be developed through a series of physical and virtual meetings over the project period of 4 years. From this cooperation, innovative implementation strategies for marginalized mountain areas are to be developed, which should enable attractive development paths and environmentally sensitive adaptation processes on the basis of new technological possibilities.
Objective
The project is based on a common understanding that identifies shortcomings in the development and design of mountain region development programs to date.These relate in particular to a defensive or negative view of the development potential of mountain regions and this is referred to as a theoretical "peripherality trap".Through the networking of these COST activities, experiences are to be exchanged between the participating countries, particularly with regard to the practical implementation of relevant initiatives and policy programs in mountain regions.The aim is to ensure that the platform established during the project period is maintained after the end of the project and forms a basis for cooperation between European mountain regions.
Status of the project and work in 2025
In coordination with the second Austrian partner, the Institute for Forest, Environment and Resource Policy at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, the Austrian case study, which is based on the results of the Horizon project MATILDE (BAB 039/20), was submitted to the selection committee of the COST consortium for the ‘Case Study Catalogue’ in March. In addition, four blogs on the context and situation of the Austrian mountain region have been online on the MAR-GISTAR homepage since May 2024. In addition, the BAB took part in various networking activities, including the consortium meeting and general assembly in Dublin, COST Connect ‘Agriculture and its products’ in Brussels and other online networking meetings on various topics.
As part of a self-organised activity of the COST MARGISTAR action, 10 interviews were also conducted with alpine farmers in the Nock region, which will be analysed in 2025 and incorporated into the transnational analysis on the topic of ‘Abandonment of pastoralism’. The results will be published as part of a planned MARGISTAR Special Issue. Furthermore, participation in networking meetings (physical and virtual) is planned for 2025.
Timetable
Project start: 11/ 2022
Project end: 12/2026
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