The Garfagnana Model for Exploiting Agrarian and Cultural Biodiversity: The White Garfagnina Sheep Breed, a Case Study of Sustainable Local Development

Abstract

This work shows and discusses ten years of activities of the Union of Municipalities of Garfagnana to support the protection of local agrarian biodiversity in a sustainable rural development perspective. Such activities were based on the involvement of local community as the main protagonist of the process of development together with the coordination role of local institutions. The key elements of the success of the Garfagnana model was the exploitation of the multifunctionality of local resources and the diversification of local economies, taking into account both local knowledge on agricultural traditions and the contribution of research, as in the case of the white Garfagnina sheep breed attests.