Mountain actors forge pathways for sustainable value chains
Mountain representatives met in Hungary from 6 to 8 November for the Workshop 'Unlocking the Power of Mountain Value Chains', organised in the framework of the EU-funded MOVING project.
Around 100 mountain representatives from 16 countries and 22 mountain ranges met in Hungary from 6 to 8 November for the Workshop entitled 'Unlocking the Power of Mountain Value Chains', organised in the framework of the EU-funded MOVING project (MOuntain Valorisation through INterconnectedness and Green Growth).
Attendees addressed common challenges and developed shared solutions in five pivotal topics: Social and demographic change, Value and quality products, Innovation and infrastructure, Nature and ecosystem services, Governance, territoriality, and cooperation.
“Value chains can be an instrument to reconnect mountain areas with cities and other territories,” said Michele Moretti, partner of the MOVING project. Participants underlined that “beyond the quality of products and landscapes, we need to look at the quality of the community. Quality of the community could be the driving force for fostering the resilience of mountains”.
Dominique Barjolle, who coordinates the foresight exercises across the 23 MOVING mountain regions, added that “what seems very strange to deal with might seem very clear in some years”. The results of the regional foresight exercises will be discussed with an EU-wide Foresight workshop on 11 January in Brussels, Belgium.
Blandine Camus, representing Euromontana at the MOVING Advisory Board, commented that “those challenges discussed here are shared by all mountain regions. I am delighted to see that the MOVING project is not about an idealised vision of mountain value chains, but that it considers both positive and negative synergies emerging from value chains’ interactions and resources competition”.
On 8 November, participants went on excursions organised by the local hosting partner, which featured Hungarian socio-ecological initiatives and rural development projects led by the Felső-Homokhátság Local Action Group.
The 'Unlocking the Power of Mountain Value Chains' Workshop served as a dynamic platform for capacity building, knowledge exchange, networking, and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders. Outputs from the thematic discussions will contribute to producing a cross-case comparison report on mountain value chains, under the coordination of Emilia Schmitt, Scientific Coordinator of the project.