Historical, cultural, economic and environmental factors in the delimitation of PGI zones

Abstract

The objective is to identify criteria to be considered when identifying a geographical protection area for local agricultural products claiming a Protected geographical indication (PGI). This involved setting up a methodology, by integrating different approaches: historical, cultural, social, technical, economic, commercial, environmental, all based on products and sectors. In the European regulations, two major criteria emerge to define PGI : "determined quality" and "reputation". These criteria can be interpreted very broadly but do not deal thoroughly with the question of zoning. Therefore, six criteria likely to be involved in defining a PGI zone were identified: the origin of the raw material, ecological factors, local knowledge and know-how, the present and also the historical economic reality, the existence of previous zoning. Each criterion has a perimeter, whose limits need to be defined. Afterwards, the balanced combination of these criteria makes it possible to reach a final mapped proposition for zoning.