Rural Identity and the Protection of Natural Resources as a Potential Factor of Development

Abstract

In this chapter, we reflect on the relevance of rural identity as a potential development factor in areas with low economic dynamism and strong social and economic imbalances. Many of these territories have environmental resources that are very favorable for promoting sustainable development with environmental protection, such as sustainable agricultural practices or other non-agricultural practices linked to the environment, such as sustainable energy production. In this sense, we reflect on how rural identity is a potential factor of endogenous resources and an enhancer to strengthen leadership, local governance, and the promotion of rural entrepreneurship, all these dynamics based on the protection of the environment. The relevance of this also lies in the greater frequency of rural development experiences based on the protagonism of local actors in their rural environments, to build independent and environmentally, economically, and demographically sustainable territories. In this chapter we make a first introduction of the subject to be reflected upon and then go deeper into the importance of rural identity as a potential development factor, introducing the need to protect natural resources as a necessity and as a reinforcing factor in the revaluation and promotion of rural identity.