Cross-Border Territorial Development through Geographical Indications: Gargano (Italy) and Dibër (Albania)

Abstract

In a globalized context, characterized by dominant trends towards the homogenization of food products and taste, local and niche productions play a vital role in creating effective strategies of territorial development. Albanian food heritage is definitely one of the most various of the Western Balkans. The Ottoman domination and the Mediterranean position just in front of Italy led to an incredible mix of cultures and traditions. As Albania is a candidate to join the European Union, it has a stronger opportunity of protecting its excellent-quality food products with PDO and PGI marks. Moreover, Albania’s territory shares fundamental features with Gargano lakes, especially with relation to the county of Dibër, where Ulez and Shkopet lakes are located. Both the areas’ traditional food products are and can be an important factor of sustainable and participatory development, and the present contribution aims at exploring possible paths of territorial development at a cross-border level, in the framework of a sort of “dialogue” between the two regions through Geographical Indications (GIs).

Investigation of Tokat Bez Sucuk, a Geographically Indicated Local Food, within the Scope of Sustainable Gastronomy

“…Becoming widespread in recent years, geographical indications protect consumers of many gastronomic products and also encourage them to trust local production and quality products. They are seen as a legal and economic tool for the development of rural areas and the protection of gastronomic and cultural heritage [23]. To clarify, the origin label in the geographical indication registration creates a sense of belonging to the regions where agricultural products are produced.…”