Rural Development and Community Resiliency Through Agriculture Heritage Tourism

2022 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H03725
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
• Principal Investigator: VAFADARI Kazem 立命館アジア太平洋大学, サステイナビリティ観光学部, 教授 (70628049)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 四本 幸夫 立命館アジア太平洋大学, アジア太平洋学部, 教授 (50449534)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: Community / Resiliency / Agriculture heritage / Tourism / Rural development / Japan / Europe / Comparative study

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

Consultation and survey with United Nation Food and Agriculture experts are done and several sites were selected and introduced for further study. Preliminary Data collection from Italy and Spain has cleared main aspects of community resiliency and development in GIAHS sites to be focused in following steps of the research. Data collection on Japanese GIAHS sites on food system and community resiliency is done and research paper from Kunisaki GIAHS is being prepared for publication. Preliminary data collection form Spain and Portugal GIAHS sites are done through filed study in Valencia, Morella and Montelegre. Feedback from Local community, local government and academia in the GIAHS sites are being analyzed. Altogether, a comprehensive research design is prepared to finalize the research.

Current Status of Research Progress

2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.

Reason

The research progress became smooth right after removal of travel restrictions and resolving of access to GIAHS sites and communities by UNFAO. initial arrangements were done through GIAHS coordinator office of UNFAO and I could proceed to field visits. However, the result of field study is somehow extraordinary due to post Covid tourism behavior in European GIAHS sites. A social phenomenon that exists after travel restrictions is the over tourism which make it difficult to collect quality data and examine real situation. A comparative study with pre Covid data on tourism is conducted by principal investigator to ensure data validity. In general the research progress is as expected and it will be more smooth in the next stage.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

The results of field study in the first stage will be presented to key stakeholders in GIAHS sites of Europe and Japan for feedback and to identify the best practices of community based tourism initiatives. Resilient factors and indicators are gong to be tested in a cooperative study approach in the nest stage. Participatory online seminars are planned to gather people from different GIAHS sites on the table to discuss the common issues and lessons from GIAHS related activities.