The Battlefield for (Sustainable) Rural Development: The Case of Lake Plastiras, Central Greece

This article aims at providing an understanding of knowledge aspects involved in the development of the Lake Plastiras area of Greece (a designated ‘less favoured area’). The area, through the implementation of development, projects, such as LEADER, has become a major tourism destination. Following the identification of the main actors in the area, their views, as well as their underlying knowledge regarding local development, are analysed. Contradictory approaches to local development subsequently emerge and the dynamics of various actors and the knowledge forms they use in rural projects are reviewed. It is argued that an approach to local development based on expert and managerial knowledge is not compatible with sustainable local development. This approach is contrasted with bottom‐up, multi‐stakeholder processes, showing that stakeholders are able to co‐construct the issue and its solutions only through participatory action but that this entails changes in perspectives and practices.