Territorial assets, development strategies and territorial governance: A comparative analysis of Brazilian and Portuguese experiences

Abstract

Possessing assets with some level of specificity, in general, is considered a comparative advantage for certain territories. For example, experiences in the Brazil Geographical Indication and Controlled or Protected Denominations of Origin in Portugal are among the main strategies of specification territorial assets. Systematic and compared studies on the effectiveness of territorial governance systems used in such experiences are almost nonexistent. The relationship of territorial assets, development strategies and territorial governance is critically analyzed through documentary and bibliographical studies, visitations, interviews and a questionnaire survey. The results of the analysis allow us to state that: such forms of specification are an option, not necessarily the only one, and in some cases, not the most significant one, there are unresolved challenges related to territorial governance systems, recourse to associativism and the differentiation, in general, no more than a strategy which makes possible private-profit business.