Mountain Research and Development Journal
Hybrid innovation—merging old and new technology—in a mountain product value chain in Hungary: a henhouse made of mud, wood, straw, and stones to keep the animals cool, warm, and safe, fitted with a solar-panel-driven door that closes automatically at sunset to keep foxes out. Photo by Gusztáv Nemes

Innovation Pathways to Sustainability in Mountains

Volume 45, Number 3 is complete!

How can innovation contribute to sustainability in mountains? Articles in this focus issue offer a diverse array of insights: In Yunnan, China, walnut producers used their local agency to build resilience in response to booms and busts of the crop. In mountain product value chains across Europe, ecological practices are often linked to social innovation and collaborative governance. In Valle d’Aosta, Italy, local views on the circular economy indicate that such a model is well suited for mountain areas, but the transition requires sociocultural change and targeted policies. And an analysis of debates on landscape and the energy transition in the Austrian, German, and Swiss Alps shows that spatial planning has a crucial role to play in governing the process. The issue was guest-edited by Jörg Balsiger, Anne B. Zimmermann, João Carlos Azevedo, and Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt. In the editorial, they offer a rich reflection on different framings of innovation and its role in sustainable mountain development.

Read the issue