Mountain products and ecosystem services: assessment methods and enhancements strategies.

The gradual abandonment of traditional activities and the difficulties faced in promoting local productions, are challenging mountain cultural and natural heritage. The research aims to support mountain dairy food chains by adding value and traceability to local mountain products. The innovative approach consists in empowering the “mountain products” by identifying and quantifying external attributes as animal welfare, environmental sustainability and plant biodiversity linked to the natural and cultural assets of the area but which are currently hidden into a broader food quality concept. The identification and quantification of these attributes allow not only to support high-quality products also in terms of social and environmental sustainability, but also to meet the expectations of tourists and consumers by adopting effective communication strategies on traditional mountain products that contribute to a lively and attractive transboundary area.