The role of human-nature connectedness in a context of rural abandonment
“My research questions and hypotheses revolve around rural abandonment because I live in a village and I see its negative effects and how the link with the environment is being lost” by Carmen López-Zayas
A research thesis by Carmen López-Zayas, advised by Cristina Quintas-Soriano & Antonio J. Castro
How do rural communities interact with natural landscapes? How do these interactions promote human-nature connectedness? and how land abandonment is affecting this connectedness? Those were the preliminary questions that arose in our minds where we started to explore the effects of land abandonment on local communities.
We are from a region in the south of Spain called Almería. This region is characterized by heterogeneous landscapes, from diverse natural protected areas which cover a littoral natural reserve, one of the most important European deserts and the highest mountain range in the Iberian Peninsula among others, but also the area contains the largest concentration of greenhouses and intensive urbanized areas in coastal areas. All these changes have motivated to denominate this area one of the most transformed in the world.
However, another important land use change which has been traditionally overlooked and even considered as a positive change, is rural land abandonment. This is an increasing process in all the Mediterranean region, and in Spain is promoted by the migration of people from rural to urban areas, aging of population, and the search for new job opportunities.
Why should we care about rural land abandonment?
In Spain, data from the Territorial Policy Ministry indicated that in the last 20 years, 61,9% of municipalities have lost population and 48% of municipalities has a population density below 12,5 inhabitants per km2. Those changes of population, people migrating from rural areas to urban and coastal areas are resulting in changes to the natural landscapes. Rural land abandonment in Spain has motivated a recovery of vegetation entailing carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and soil fertility among other benefits. However it is also transforming the landscapes through a process of homogenization of vegetation which may entail loss of biodiversity and other nature’s contributions to people such as water regulation service through the loss of traditional management of “acequias” or erosion control through the disappearance of terraces practices. In particular, major impacts are linked to the socio-cultural level: loss of traditional ecological knowledge, cultural heritage, biocultural practices, cultural values and local identity or sense of place.
The case study is the municipality of Purchena, a small town located in the Almanzora region. This area is famous because of the marble quarries that have modified and transformed the landscape of the area but also supports the economy in the area with one of the most international companies in Spain, Cosentino. Landscapes in the area represent traditional agricultural farming systems, mostly dedicated to subsistence agriculture, where a mix of vegetable crops coexist with olive trees, almond and fruit trees and vineyards. Purchena has a population approximately of 1636 inhabitants, mostly employed by the tertiary sector, related employment with the administration (head of judicial party) and the educational sector (centers for minors in foster care), and to the secondary sector related to the manufacture of ornamental rock, especially at present linked to the multinational Cosentino.
Under the idea and main goal to better understand why people live in this little rural area why some people decide to emigrate and how is the relationship of the local population with the natural environments, we carried out a socio-cultural survey with the local community.
How do local people feel connected to nature?
We explored how the human-nature connection was in the population of Purchena. Initially, our hypothesis was that the connection with nature would be low in the area, and that would be one of the driving factors for the rural depopulation. However, we found that the local community of Purchena felt very connected with the natural environment. In particular, this connection was high in men and those people who did not get birth in the study area, but currently lived there.
Then, we explored why the local population felt connected to nature through the analysis of an open question. We found that a high percentage was linked to relational values — this means that people were connected with the way that they interact with nature, linked with the experiences in nature at individual level or collective, how nature makes people feel part of it, which defines and determines us as people in community-.
Finally, we asked about the opportunities and limitations to live in a rural area, and we codified them following the human well-being components framework. We found that material aspects, linked to economic prosperity, together with services, leisure, or accessibility were the main limitations identified by the local public. On the other side, main opportunities of living in a rural area were related to tranquility, high quality of life, and the small community which increased social relationships.
In summary:
- The rural population of Purchena identifies themselves with a high connection to nature, and this is mainly due to the high relational value that the local population experiences with the natural environment. In this case it is understood that nature and the relationships that are generated interpersonally and individually in nature are the main engine that fosters this connection with nature.
- Relational values are recognized by the local population as essential to have a good quality of life. This good quality is identified with the deeper dimension of connection with nature, understanding that nature is important because it is part of the daily life of local people.
- An overwhelming percentage of the local population interviewed would recommend living in the rural environment. This recognition is determined by the multitude of components of human well-being that this rural area provides.
- However, some components of human well-being were identified as acting as barriers to living in these rural environments, mainly the lack of professional and economic opportunities.
If we want to mitigate the depopulation in rural areas this will require actions aimed at the valorization of land stewardship (linked to put in value production systems and creating economic development), but also based on the understanding of the benefits that nature under the stewardship of the rural population brings to both rural and urban areas.
Further info & contact details:
Full study: Master Thesis. Carmen López-Zayas. 2022. “Evaluando la conexión humano-naturaleza en la España rural y sus implicaciones en la despoblación.” University of Almería, carmenlzayas13@gmail.com
As part of the SCALABLE project: Social-ecological pathways and gender perspectives for future conservation of biocultural mountain agro-ecosystems. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
Dr. Cristina Quintas-Soriano, Marie Curie Researcher, SocioECOS Lab, University of Almería, cristina.quintas@ual.es
