Local Productive Systems (hereinafter LPSs) based on agro-food industries constitute alternative models of development in peripheral rural areas that are subject to internal and external dynamics and processes. The main objective of this research is to investigate these processes and their consequences on four LPSs based on the Iberian Pig Transformation Industry (hereinafter LPS-IPTI) in SW Spain: Fregenal de la Sierra, Higuera la Real, Cumbres Mayores and Jabugo. Using secondary data, a comparison is made between 2002 and 2020 to establish the changes, causes and consequences on the LPS-IPTIs studied. The results obtained indicate (1) the business and territorial concentration of LPS-IPTIs; (2) changes in the structure of the LPS-IPTI due to internal and external causes that were already present before the international economic crisis; (3) productive and territorial specialisation in standardised products and quality products that generated the polarisation of the sector; (4) simplification of industrial processes; (5) loss of employment, especially female; (6) external control of companies in the sector which, accordingly, brings about the loss of prominence of local actors in favour of foreign companies, reduced social capital and the progressive loss of ownership of the LPS.

In the context of agricultural post-productivity, rural spaces acquire new functions or reinforce the existing ones. Thus, the production of quality food, as a part of agroindustry, and tourism appear as common activities in rural development strategies. Special attention is drawn to gastronomic tourism and the creation of routes as a creative expression of the integration and structuring of the territories. The Iberian ham is a unique product, known worldwide, produced exclusively in the SW quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula. It is linked to a unique agro-system of the anthropised Mediterranean forest, also known as dehesa4, and comparably limited Iberian pig livestock, which has given rise to traditional culture and industry constituted in Local Productive System in many municipalities, supported by Protected Designation of Origin. The central objective of the research is to analyse existing tourist attraction related to the Iberian ham, its potential and the routes and products that have arisen around it. Having placed the territorial recognition as the starting point, the analysis of the resources and locations of the activities related to the Iberian ham was carried out based on scientific literature and the use of different databases. Secondly, the analysis of the potential tourism activities in the Sierra de Huelva region was implemented based on primary sources, namely surveys and interviews with intervening actors. The following results are obtained: a) the tourist potential of the Iberian pig world; b) complementarity with other tourist activities; c) difficulties in structuring existing attractions; d) multiplication of disconnected and sometimes coincident tourism initiatives; e) scarce participation of private actors in the initiatives launched.

As a form of protection, a nature park is often created to protect and valorise natural and cultural heritage in peripheral rural areas. However, in terms of multifunctionality, new nature parks incorporate traditional productive activities, such as recreational and tourist activities, which sometimes compromise sustainability. The research objective is to study the relationship between tourism and sustainability in the nature parks of Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche, Sierra Norte de Sevilla and Sierra de Hornachuelos that make up the Dehesas de Sierra Morena Biosphere Reserve in Andalusia, Spain. Therefore, selective interviews have been carried out with the stakeholders to establish their perception of sustainable tourism and the presence of dominant discourses. The main conclusions indicate: (1) the presence of different dominant discourses on sustainability, namely the conservationist and mercantilist ones, with the prevalence of the economic dimension; (2) poor awareness and adaptation to the context of global change; and (3) the presence of competitive relationships that generate difficulties for the governance of sustainable tourism.

In rural spaces, new activities are developed to add to the traditional ones in the context of multifunctionality, considering the protection and enhancement of natural and cultural heritage, as in Nature Parks. They incorporate new recreational and tourist functions, understood as an instrument for local development. This research aims to study the relationships between tourism and local development in three Natural Parks (Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche, Sierra Norte de Sevilla and Sierra de Hornachuelos) in Andalusia (Spain). The research uses a mixed methodology consisting of, on the one hand, selective interviews with stakeholders focused on tourism and local development processes and, on the other, secondary data to analyze the repercussions on local development. The results show that (1) prevalence among the informants of the economic dimension in local development above the environmental and socio-cultural dimensions; (2) influence of declarations of protection and implementation of development policies on the growth of the tourist offer; (3) uneven tourism development in the different municipalities and Natural Parks; and (4) limited effects of tourism on local development.

As a form of protection, a nature park is often created to protect and valorise natural and cultural heritage in peripheral rural areas. However, in terms of multi-functionality, new nature parks are incorporated into traditional productive activities, such as recreational and tourist activities, which sometimes compromise sustainability. The research objective is to study the relationship between tourism and sustainability in the Nature Parks of “Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche”, “Sierra Norte de Sevilla” and “Sierra de Hornachuelos” that makes up the Dehesas de Sierra Morena Biosphere Reserve in Andalusia, Spain. Therefore, selective interviews have been carried out with the stakeholders to establish their perception of sustainable tourism and the presence of dominant discourses. The main conclusions indicate (1) the presence of different dominant discourses on sustainability, namely the conservationist and mercantilist ones, with the prevalence of the economic dimension; (2) poor awareness and adaptation to the context of global change; and (3) the presence of competitive relationships that generate difficulties for the governance of sustainable tourism.