Rural depopulation and land abandonment are increasing the risk of desertification in vulnerable regions around the world, including southern Europe.
While depopulation is often viewed through demographic and economic statistics, a new TERRASAFE study highlights the importance of understanding how local communities experience and interpret these changes.
The paper, authored by Rosanna Salvia, Marta Maria Maddalena Saulle and Giovanni Quaranta, examines the narratives people use to make sense of rural depopulation and discusses how these interpretations can influence the success of policy interventions.
By reviewing 37 studies from Europe and other parts of the world, the researchers identified three dominant ways in which depopulation is understood by affected communities.
The first narrative sees depopulation as an irreversible loss, associated with the decline of cultural heritage, farming knowledge, social cohesion and local identity. A second narrative frames depopulation as an opportunity for rebirth, where land abandonment can create space for innovation, new activities and the revitalisation of rural areas. The third views depopulation as a sign of marginalisation, reflecting long-term structural neglect, unequal power relationships and constraints imposed by actors outside the region.
The study argues that these narratives shape how communities respond to change and influence whether rural development and land management policies gain local support.
Although it finds major geographical gaps in the literature and inconsistencies in methods, the papers highlights how understanding narratives can help policymakers design interventions that are more responsive to local realities and more likely to deliver lasting impact.
As the first published research paper from the TERRASAFE project, the study marks an important milestone for the consortium and contributes new insights into the social dimensions of land degradation and desertification.
Read the full paper:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43621-026-03328-0#Sec12
Reference: Salvia, R., Saulle, M.M.M. & Quaranta, G. A scoping review of narrative analysis in studies of rural depopulation and land abandonment. Discov Sustain 7, 861 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-03328-0
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Depopulation as a driver of desertification
Across southern Europe, the loss of traditional farming practices is accelerating the decline of the land.
