(Note 1) The Veneto region is 34% mountainous, yet less than 10% of the regional population actually live in these mountains. These areas are complex and distinctive and are difficult to describe using restrictive parameters or formulae.
We have now gone beyond the old approach of considering the mountains as marginal and disadvantaged areas, as they are now recognised both in the public consciousness and institutionally for their value as an important resource for everyone.
Their wealth of natural resources, firmly rooted traditions in land management, agricultural excellence and a natural inclination towards the conservation of their extensive biodiversity all add to the mountains' reputation for quality of life and financial and recreational activities.
This kind of recognition, which was also confirmed on an international scale in the 1992 Rio Conference and by the declaration of 2002 as the International Year of Mountains, does not however make up for the problems encountered while living and working there.
Problems creating settlements and with communication, the layout of the land, the difficult climate and geological instability are just some of the problems humans have had to overcome to be able to live in these places. These problems have led inexorably to the area's economy being abandoned and to a continuing drop in population, especially in the outlying areas.
Agriculture in particular is one business that has been cut back considerably: in Belluno alone the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA) was reduced by almost 30% from 1970 to 2000. This has had serious consequences for the environment as the area is quite delicate and its economy is difficult to promote.
Changes in the use of the land, linked mainly to reductions in and difficulties with agriculture, have created a need for serious maintenance work to protect the environment; this work includes preserving slope stability, maintaining infrastructure, containing the spread of woodlands, as well as converting certain production systems linked to traditional agriculture, such as pasturelands.
These problems are also to be found in a context in which providing for tourism competes with the need to look after the environment and land, thus making it difficult to choose a suitable development strategy.