Meriem El Kouhen (p), Fatiha Addyoubah

Igor Sirnik

The configuration of actors and spaces around water system in Morocco has been a special and controverted issue over last decades. It has been discussed by few and insufficient academic researches and studies while the matter of water scarcity, drought and overexploitation, in the region, represent increasingly a huge source of population concern as well as public authorities one. The design of space, the cultural, historical, social references and water governance are not the only variables that could have an impact on the transformation of hydrosocial territories. Besides, hydraulic infrastructures represent one of the most important components of the pattern, and the distribution of people, around those assets, the kind of their activities, their deep relation with land, contribute enormously in the territory modelling and its development. The Sebou Basin is one of the most important basins in Morocco, in which water governance is increasingly complicated with the multiplicity of actors, policies and strategies, especially when those are nor converging towards a specific goal, or when the goals are serving divergent interests. This paper aims to explore the pertinence and eventually the contribution of groundwater governance mechanism, materialized by the groundwater contract, in order to enhance hydraulic environment and reduce water deficit and scarcity in Sebou Basin in Morocco. The groundwater contract is meant to be a way of struggle against overexploitation and abusive use of underground water and preserve the natural reserve of the ecosystem in the region. However, human practices have been long working, consciously or unconsciously, against the assigned objectives that are far from being reached in terms. Moreover, the related policies acknowledge huge number of misunderstanding, failure, dissonance and ignorance from local authorities as well as the rest of stakeholders. The article highlights different perspectives and challenges to show how the articulation of the relation between different components, social, natural, political, of the territory could play a major role in the whole water governance scheme.

Judit Berkes (p), Ádám Páthy , Ildikó Egyed, Szilárd Rácz

Meriem El Kouhen

Over the past three decades, the region has undergone significant changes that have transformed the social, economic and political landscape. The traces of these changes are particularly visible in the post-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe. These processes have sometimes fragment-ed, sometimes reshaped, and sometimes transcended borders, reshaping the region. The focus of this study is on the 'geography' of companies, i.e. the concentration of companies with more than 10 employees in the region in the 15 countries selected, according to various criteria. The countries covered by the study are Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland . The data of the active economic operators (<300 thousand) of the countries in-cluded in the study were analyzed by turnover and size. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the distribution of firm size categories within a specific geographic region. Additional-ly, the study aims to determine if there is a correlation between firm size and turnover, and how firms are distributed based on their activity. Another objective is to differentiate between post-socialist and other countries. The study primarily utilized descriptive statistical methods for its methodology. The spatial distribution of enterprises at the NUTS3 level presents a far more di-verse picture than what is typically observed in economic indicators such as GDP. Additionally, the disparities in this particular distribution are not as pronounced or distinct as those of general economic indicators. The research examines the concentration of businesses in urban and rural ar-eas, which has a substantial influence on the economic and demographic sustainability of the re-spective regions. The results indicate that in regions devoid of a European-scale metropolis, the functions of small and medium-sized cities exhibit substantial variation.

Xiaofei Pang (p), )Binggeng Xie, Zhangqing Yu, Xuemao Zhang, Jing Xie

Judit Berkes

Understanding the transformation of cultivated land use is crucial for advancing sustainable development goals related to food security. However, in mountainous regions, there is a lack of comprehensive studies that fully account for the diverse factors influencing cultivated land use transformation. This study aims to elucidate the temporal and spatial dynamics of cultivated land resource transformation in the mountainous Sino–Vietnam border area, uncover its underlying driving mechanisms, and offer insights for safeguarding cultivated land, promoting economic development, ensuring homeland security, enhancing ecological security, and bolstering border stability and prosperity. To investigate the cultivated land use transformation pattern in the Sino–Vietnam border area from 2000 to 2020, we employed kernel density estimation and geo-information spectra. Additionally, we developed a comprehensive driving force system tailored to the unique characteristics of cultivated land use in the border region. We applied a spatial econometric model to dissect the driving mechanisms governing cultivated land use transformation. Our findings revealed several key insights: (1) The density of cultivated land in the Sino–Vietnam border area exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease. Notably, the transformation of cultivated land was most prominent in the eastern plains, intensifying over time. (2) The predominant type of transformation in the Sino–Vietnamese border area revolved around the mutual conversion of cultivated land and woodland, with the mutual conversion of cultivated land and grassland ranking second. (3) Against the backdrop of urban rural integration, the transformation of cultivated land use at the border progressed from a phase of rapid decline to a phase of slower decline. (4) The transformation of cultivated land was influenced by a complex interplay of socio-economic factors, natural environmental conditions, policy management, and transportation infrastructure. The relative importance of these factors in driving cultivated land use transformation varied significantly across different time periods. In light of these findings, we recommend promoting agricultural modernization and industrialization in the Sino–Vietnamese border areas. It is essential to consider the region’s distinct cultivated land characteristics, implement tailored land policies, and develop diversified strategies for the utilization and management of cultivated land. Furthermore, harnessing land resources to stimulate economic development should be a focal point of future initiatives in the area.

Igor Sirnik (p)

Xiaofei Pang

The global aim is moving towards a sustainable future, with energy transition being a crucial component that should be developed in a sustainable manner. In response, the European Council is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. One of the main promising solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to meet environmental goals is the use of renewable energy technologies, such as agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics, the integration of solar panels with agricultural production beneath, is a novel and promising technology. However, the potential social and environmental synergies as well as trade-offs involved in upscaling agrivoltaics in rural landscapes remain unexplored. This study aims to assess these potential interactions of upscaling agrivoltaics in cultural landscapes in the French wine region Languedoc (Southern France), where climate change is affecting crop performance and water availability. We developed potential scenarios for upscaling agrivoltaics identifying synergies and trade-offs between key performance indicators for sustainability (e.g. energy production, crop performance, water availability, and landscape quality). Landscape quality is a conceptual tool to address landscape values in the design of landscape transformations, considering functional, experiential, and future values.
In our study, we examined effects of agrivoltaic on landscape in terms of landscape quality and crop and energy production. We combined coefficients of the influence of agrivoltaics on crop performance and water use, together with current land use maps and spatial energy potential mapping to study key performance indicators. Then, we develop potential scenarios based on different preferences for landscape quality and protection of cultural values to assess potential trade-offs and synergies between the selected key performance indicators.
Preliminary findings suggest substantial synergies between crop production, water availability, and energy production from the upscaling of agrivoltaics in the study area. However, significant trade-offs arise, particularly to the detriment of landscape quality. This issue becomes more pronounced when considering the cultural values attached to these landscapes. This study provides valuable insights of upscaling agrivoltaics in viticultural landscapes, highlighting the challenges for crop production, landscape quality, and climate-resilient agriculture in the Languedoc region. The potential of upscaling agrivoltaics should be approached combining spatial planning (siting) and careful design of agrivoltaics to safeguard landscape quality in these cultural landscapes and elsewhere. Moreover, agrivoltaics is an alternative solution to the energy transition needed to adapt and mitigate to climate change, while supporting the design of more sustainable rural landscapes.