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Equids contribution to sustainable development in Europe: modern aspects and transfer of knowledge
Sustainability as a concept comprises the combination of economic, environmental and social elements, never more importantly than when looking at the achievement of local sustainability. The achievement of sustainable development is not only dependent upon the sustainability of the environment and its natural resources, but also on the level of economic and social conditions reached by the people using the environment and its natural resources. Europe's rural areas face significant challenges and, between them, the capacity to create sustainable development. Over the last years there has been considerable worldwide changes in rural environment, agricultural and feeding systems that affected considerably the horse breeding. Farming and forestry remain crucial as the use and the management of natural resources in the EU's rural areas. Rural development is the key tool for the restructuring of the agriculture sector and to encourage diversification and innovation . Equids match an important role in this context because they can make good, productive use of less favored lands; they are able to develop considerable adaptation mechanisms to resist to very difficult climatic conditions and to low food availability. Diet selection needs to be analyzed to understand livestock performance and their impact on the vegetation in the different sites. So far, the studies concerning the integration between horses and territory are of considerable importance in the recovery of marginal lands and in maintaining their biodiversity. In this context grazing represents a major tool for conservation management because of its effects on habitat structure and biodiversity. Moreover, such activities are more and more linked to the maintenance of population in rural areas, to new relationships between citizen and cultural rural life and consequent preservation of traditional socio-cultural life. This paper will emphasize the role of equids in the rural development from past to future identifying the farming systems in a general context of environment and landscape safeguard and of biodiversity preservation. It will be emphasized the diversity of the “equine culture” and the equine-related activities such as leisure and tourism activities, the preservation of rural socio-cultural life and the most relevant socio-economic issues.
Keywords: Equine, Sustainability, Rural Development