Transhumance Farming in Swiss Mountains: Adaptation to a Changing Environment

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 numb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mountain research and development 2015-02, Vol.35 (1), p.57-65
Main Authors: Jurt, Christine, Häberli, Isabel, Rossier, Ruth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Agricultural land
Agriculture
Altitude
Crops
Family farm
Family farms
Farm buildings
Farm economics
Farmers
Farming
Farms
Financial risk
Mountain
MountainResearch
Mountains
Political risk
Research and development
Risk network
Risk perception
Studies
Switzerland
Systems knowledge
Transhumance
Transhumance farming
Workloads
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0276-4741
1994-7151
DOI:10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-14-00022.1