Regional Mountain Conference

Many Alpine pastures are shaped by a long history of traditional collective land management practices. Those pastures that are based on collective management or ownership can be understood as a sustainable example of a system rooted in the local environment, based on cooperation, shared responsibility and close interaction between humans, animals, and the environment. Today, however, such areas are undergoing transformation, adaptation, or decline, while remaining a key element of the Alpine cultural landscape. These extensive farming systems are increasingly shaped by modern policies, socio‑economic transformations, and both natural and cultural conservation regimes that directly influence them. In this way not only public perceptions of the pastures and the surrounding landscape change, but also the material landscape and the everyday practices of those who graze their livestock on the Alpine pastures.

Here we present ongoing research based primarily on two case studies in the Slovenian Alps. By using a mixed-methods approach that combines policy analysis, historical land-use records, and ethnographic fieldwork with local communities and decision-makers, we examine how these Alpine pastures are evolving while navigating multi-level governance. The research explores the conflicts, synergies, and power relations that emerge among local users, institutions and decision-makers in community-based management, showing how traditionally managed systems interact with contemporary policies and shifting societal expectations.