Rural governance and livelihoods systems diversification in the Western Balkans: comparative case studies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia

Agriculture is still important for socio-economic development in rural areas of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia (BMS). However, for sustainable rural development rural economies should be diversified so attention should be paid also to off-farm and non-farm income-generating activities. Agricultural and rural development (ARD) processes and farm activity diversification initiatives should be well governed. The ultimate objective of this work is to explore linkages between ARD governance and rural livelihoods diversification in BMS. The thesis is based on an extended secondary data analysis and surveys. Questionnaires for ARD governance and coordination were sent via email to public, civil society and international organizations. Concerning rural livelihood diversification, the field questionnaire surveys were carried out in three rural regions of BMS. Results show that local rural livelihoods are increasingly diversified but a significant share of households are still engaged in agriculture. Diversification strategies have a chance to succeed taking into consideration the three rural regions’ assets. However, rural households have to tackle many problems for developing new income-generating activities such as the lack of financial resources. Weak business skills are also a limiting factor. Fully exploiting rural economy diversification potential in BMS requires many interventions including improving rural governance, enhancing service delivery in rural areas, upgrading rural people’s human capital, strengthening rural social capital and improving physical capital, access of the rural population to finance as well as creating a favourable and enabling legal and legislative environment fostering diversification. Governance and coordination of ARD policy design, implementation and evaluation is still challenging in the three Balkan countries and this has repercussions also on the pace of rural livelihoods diversification. Therefore, there is a strong and urgent need for mobilization of all rural stakeholders and actors through appropriate governance arrangements in order to foster rural livelihoods diversification and quality of life improvement.

Nach Bosnien, Herzegowina und Montenegro

Anonym

Erbprinzessin Militza von Montenegro, Kniestück

Signatur des Originals: S 36/F05449

Fernanda Tedesca, Brustbild, Profil

Signatur des Originals: S 36/G02368

Beigel, Fernanda, Misión Santiago. El Mundo Académico Jesuita y los inicios de la cooperación internacional católica, Santiago de Chile, LOM, 2011. 260 págs. ISBN 9789560002853

Fil: Hermosilla, Adriana. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

Adiciones a las obras del muy ilustre ... D. F. Benito Geronimo Feyjoó y Montenegro ... del Orden de San Benito ..

Marca tip. de ed. en port

Proyecto de ordenacion del monte Hayedo de las Tozas en el termino municipal de Montenegro de Cameros (Soria)

El monte que nos ocupa esta situdo en la provincia de Soria y termino municipal de Montenegro de Cameros.