Resilience and rural change: conflict or synergy?

Starting from the concept of resilience and its application in rural socio-ecological systems (SES), this work explores the development pathways within a rural SES (consisting of four representative linked communities) over a sixty year period. The results of the study show an array of different pathways which contrast with the accepted perception of a homogeneous local territory. These results provide valuable insights for more responsive policy-making which is better suited to the specific community contexts which sustain resilience in the SES.