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1 February 2015 Transhumance Farming in Swiss Mountains: Adaptation to a Changing Environment
Christine Jurt, Isabel Häberli, Ruth Rossier
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Families living on transhumance farms (Stufenbetriebe) in the Swiss Alps may move with their cattle up to 12 times a year between as many as 4 altitudinal levels. Transhumance farms have come under increasing political pressure to improve their economic performance, which has been hampered by a number of factors, such as rising infrastructure costs for meeting animal welfare regulations at multiple farm locations, lack of access roads, and restrictions on the creation of new transhumance farms. Little is known about transhumant farming practices and the role they play in mountain regions. In this exploratory anthropological study, we interviewed 39 transhumance farm family members in 7 Swiss cantons about their history, present situation, and visions of the future. A special focus was the risk perceptions upon which decisions and management strategies are based. The semistructured interviews were analyzed according to principles of content analysis and risk network analysis, with a focus on social, cultural, economic, and political risks as well as natural hazards. The results show that many transhumance farms are undergoing a process of adaptation to a changing social, political, economic, environmental, and cultural context. Transhumance farming has allowed individuals to survive as mountain farmers despite often difficult conditions. This study offers important insights into the risk perceptions and strategies of adaptation to ongoing changes developed by the families on these farms.

International Mountain Society
Christine Jurt, Isabel Häberli, and Ruth Rossier "Transhumance Farming in Swiss Mountains: Adaptation to a Changing Environment," Mountain Research and Development 35(1), 57-65, (1 February 2015). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-14-00022.1
Received: 1 November 2014; Accepted: 1 December 2014; Published: 1 February 2015
KEYWORDS
Adaptation
family farm
mountain
risk network
risk perception
Switzerland
Transhumance farming
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