Regional resilience based on ecological, economic and social knowledge and innovation in the Ötscher region

This project addresses the challenges of a transformative change aiming for a fundamental shift, that questions values and routine practice and changes prior perspective employed to rationalize decisions and pathways. For our research we selected a region in Austria where climate change (e.g. reduced snow cover), land use shifts as well as societal and structural problems all together require a significant change based on holistic analyses and awareness of the interconnected challenges that arise in a social-ecological system. The selected study area is located south of the Ötscher mountain, part of the Ybbstaler Alps in Lower Austria. The case study is expecting a significant shock in the near future and several long-term changes requiring a transition towards resilient, sustainable regional development. Currently, the region’s future perspectives, including land use and local quality of life, are the subject of pessimistic discussions and concerns because a local ski resort, previously funded by the government of Lower Austria, is scheduled to close next year. Based on an extended literature review, we will use the concept of resilience as a framework to address and better understand the complex challenges faced by local communities. In the past, innovative applications in the context of rural resilience have mostly been developed for specific disciplines. Approaches so far have not leveraged integrated regional concepts. Therefore, transdisciplinary solutions are still missing. This proposal will contribute to closing this research gap, and will develop a framework tailored to the application on a regional level. In order to operationalize resilience in an inter- and trans-disciplinary manner, we will apply a conceptual framework combining social-ecological systems (SES) and dynamic adaptive pathways (DAP) in order to show that resilience thinking can provide the basis for an applicable, future-oriented regional development concept. Finally, the application of a representative survey in the region will facilitate the implementation process within the region and contribute to innovative research findings. From a scientific perspective these methodological concept is an innovative contribution and a step beyond the current state of the art. The proposal enhances the participation of the local population within all methodological steps, supports existing local bottom-up approaches, and leads to one main transdisciplinary process.