REGIONAL POLITICAL ECOLOGY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE - A CASE-STUDY FROM NORTHERN PORTUGAL

This paper is divided into two parts. In the first, a theoretical approach to the problem of land degradation, known as "regional political ecology' is outlined, and its implications for work within the broad field of rural development geography discussed. The approach is used as a basis for analysis of the current agricultural crisis in the Serra do Alvao, a mountain range in the interior of northern Portugal, which is one of the poorest and least developed areas of the EEC. In the second part of the paper, four main problems with the approach of "regional political ecology' are considered, both at a theoretical level, and in the context of the specific case study. -from Author