Miruna MAIER
Centre of Mountain Economy “CE-MONT”,
Național Institute for Mountain
Biotehnology, Petreni, nr. 49, 725700, Vatra Dornei, Jud. Suceava, România
DOI: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10397467
Abstract
Man and nature have been, are and will always be tightly bound to one another. This is why the conservation of biodiversity is not only an ethical objective for humanity, but also a fundamental one for safeguarding humanity’s future. Sadly, agriculture, particularly large-scale agriculture, based on maximizing the use of existing tillable fields, on using pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and on excessive use of machinery, represents a serious danger to biodiversity. In the mountain area, however, things look different. The activities of the mountain economy, through their own nature, are uniquely suited to reaching this ethical objective of humanity, the traditional agricultural practices from the mountain area having been developed in harmony with nature and not to its detriment. The result is, aside from protecting the environment, the growth of the productivity, food security and economic viability of the mountain agriculture based on small and medium-sized family farms and agro-tourism.
Keywords:
Mountain economy, biodiversity, biodiversity conservation, traditional practices, intrinsic value