Governing mountain landscapes collectively: local responses to emerging challenges within a systems thinking perspective

Alpine cultural landscapes are the result of a long process of social-ecological coevolution, and today face dramatic changes and risks, such as depopulation and abandonment of traditional land use. Some communities seem to adapt better and are benefiting from the changes, compared to others, which are losing their population and identity. Historic collective property institutions and traditional ecological knowledge play a key role. The direction of local development appears to be driven by the interaction of three main forces: culture, multiple-level governance and the local economy. We propose a systems thinking approach to unravel the complexities, highlighting causal connections and interdependency. Focusing on two study areas around Alpine forest-pasture ecotones, where the driving forces mentioned have a major impact, we recognised some general structures that can foster a social learning process by merging different sources of knowledge, promoting advanced understanding of their complexity and better strategies responding to emerging challenges.