Τzoumerka is a hard to reach extended mountain range with rich natural and cultural resources. The region’s main economic activities are stock farming and tourism. It is widely acceptable that development actions and motives applied in past years have not attributed the expected outcomes. Consequently, the search for optimal development choices remains a question. However, the exercise of imagination for a better future that is sometimes reported also as “visioning” is structural element in the search of worth-living integrated development.

According to this direction, in this paper, the social representations of the residents of the Tzoumerka region for the future region development are investigated, in order to recognize them as a phenomenon that testify social dynamics, which we should point out as objectively as possible. The research was based on a qualitative interpretive approach. The techniques used were those of interview, Focus Groups and the method of free associations. The inquiring effort was focused in professionals, residents of region. The questions were distinguished in two central axes. The first axis included questions that aimed to determine the expected future and the second questions that aimed to determine the preferred future. For tracking of representative elements, the criterion of intense presence was used, by analyzing the data that resulted from our research and drawing data from other quantitative research (Rokos, 2004).

The comparison of elements that resulted from the vision of the expected and preferred future, determined the dreams, the expectations but also the fears of the region’s residents. The improvement of accessibility, employment and the building of infrastructure constituted the representative elements with the largest frequency, but they were set in contestation by the belief that “few things can change”. The wish for qualitative support of tourism receded by the fear of the creation of competitive tourism exploitations. The wish for essential support and briefing of farmers was obscured by the fear of repetition of the last years’ insipid subsidy policy. The expectation for the rendering of the real life’s culture receded by the fears of the continuing abandonment and the weak bonds of the youngsters with the region. The wish for the protection and the maintenance of the natural environment in region was overshadowed from the fears caused by the big green investments.

In this study the possibility of covering the energy demands of pastoralists in the wider area of Tzoumerka range through the utilization of renewable energy resources is studied. At first, a short reference to the contribution of pastoralism in the area is made. Then the average of the essential energy demands is estimated in order to accommodate the stopover/ staying of the pastoralist on the mountain. The solar and wind potential of the area is specified accompanied with the respective sizing of autonomous systems of photovoltaics, small wind turbine and hybrid system. According to the cost-efficiency relationship, which is investigated for every single system, the best technological solution is applied. Finally, the appointment of the utilization of new technologies, such as the energy production from renewable sources, for the settlement of important social issues and the upgrading of the standard of living of pastoralists is pointed out. The factual support of the state is considered to be a prerequisite.

Nowadays, the Ιnternet has become an important part of our lives. Millions of people visit it every day making the best of the huge capabilities that it offers. As a result, Internet has become one of the most usable means of education, information, communication, business and entertainment. This study aims at the analysis and evaluation of the way that a mountainous region is presented through various internet sites of local authorities and private enterprises. The region of Tzoumerka in Epirus is chosen as a case study.

A region with such a strong tradition and historical heritage faces the challenge of adjusting to the new era without losing its local identity, while being at the same time able to effectively present its characteristics to the web visitors. This may well be proven effective in the further tourist promotion of the region. Moreover, the local residents can improve their quality of life by using the potentials that the Internet offers. In mountainous areas where the living conditions are difficult and distances long, the new way of communication can give an answer to many of the people’s problems.

For the realization of the survey representative sites of local Municipalities and tourist enterprises  from  the  region  of  Tzoumerka  were  selected.  They  were  then  evaluated, according to specific criteria, in order to draw conclusions concerning their quality, which also constitutes a reliable sample of the quality of the online presentation of the entire area.

The forest, in its wider sense, constitutes a complex ecological system with its own life cycle and functions that coexist harmoniously in an area. It is a natural resource with particular significance for humanity. It constitutes a renewable natural resource with huge and inexhaustible potentials in the environmental, financial and cultural development of an area helping the creation of better living conditions.

The aim of the present essay is to demonstrate the dangers caused by forest fires on the mountainous areas and to observe the situation in the range of Tzoumerka. Bearing in mind that the existing scenarios of climatic changes suggest an increase in the danger of forest fires in the Mediterranean, certain measures are being proposed for the further protection of the forest ecosystems in the area of Tzoumerka. The selection and study of the specific area was done due to its particular natural, aesthetic and historical importance.

The purpose of this study is the analysis of the requirements for the development of not only a simple winter ski center but rather an all-season activities park, open all year long in the area of Tzoumerka. A literature review about the evolution of ski-related activities in Greece is first presented. Then, the specifications for the establishment of winter ski centers are analyzed and useful information is given about the new centers, which are under development, additionally to the fifteen existing ones. In the following, the question whether the winter-ski tourism is a matter of development or degradation for a specific area is analyzed, the current practice is evaluated on the basis of previous case studies, existing infrastructure, information technology and networking, and an optimized land planning of a ski center in the Tzoumerka area is attempted, based on both spatial and economic criteria. The associations of the proposed project with the progress of constructions of the two main road networks (Egnatia odos and Ionia odos) are also examined. Finally, the objectives of the proposed development plan are described in detail and its feasibility is estimated.

Trekking tourism is an alternative form of tourism with an increasing number of fans. Some efforts have been made recently, aimed at the promotion of walking paths mainly at European level. A map was composed, which reflected paths starting from northern Europe and ending at southern Europe. There are uniform standards under which the European trails are marked.

In Greece the existing infrastructure, regarding the paths, was not important. Taking into account the fact that the already existing paths were not properly maintained, problems were aroused not only during the planning of the new path – network, but also after the completion of the work. Only local initiatives have contributed to the maintenance and the labelling of footpaths.

Using a mobile GPS device the coordinates of the footpath between the mountainous villages of Syrrako and Kalarrytes were recorded. The route between the villages was imprinted in a map, using Autocad. During the walk in the footpath several photos were taken, in order to highlight the beauty of the route and the surrounding area.

The energy dependence of Greece on natural gas is expected to rise gradually in the following years. However, there is an absence of the necessary storage facilities that could support this. Therefore, the necessity of their construction becomes greater and greater. The present paper aims at studying the underground storage areas for natural gas, within artificial salt cavern complexes. It provides a general report on natural gas storage, mainly in the US and Europe. Furthermore, a review on the artificial creation of caverns within salt formations is presented. Key financial figures related to the construction cost as well as figures related to the potential of the underground storage areas are also shown. The geological characteristics of the appropriate formations are described. Finally, Epirus is discussed as a possible area for storing natural gas due to the existence of salt formations that could be used for this purpose, especially in the Monolithi area.

During the last decades, Greece is receiving immigrants, while Greeks used to migrate from Greece in the past. The migration wave from Albania changed the country's social, economic and political “status quo”. Some Albanian migrants, leaving a country that did not offer the basic for life, will choose to settle in the neglected by Greek government and the majority of the Greek population mountainous area of Tzoumerka. The difficulty to find a job in the urban centers of the country in addition to various job opportunities in mountain areas, are the two main reasons that led these migrants to this region. There, they contributed mainly in the construction as well as the cattle – breading section. Both, of great importance to the local economy and development. A relationship based on interdependence between the local community of Tzoumerka and the Albanian migrants will be evolved in the economic, social and cultural aspect of everyday life. These immigrants are characterized by a constant to –and- fro between work place and home place, that isn’t of no impact to their life. They, therefore, are “international” migrants who share two cultural identities, live two lives and have two resident places.

This paper studies the young pupils livelihood, in mountain areas. The research object is the youngster daily way of life in the mountainous villages of Tzoumerka, focused on the difficulties that they face, the pleasures that derive from living in the village, their desires and their speculations for the future. The realization of this study consisted of field research with questionnaires that were addressed to the pupils of the local schools. Pupils of high school and lyceum of the Municipalities of Pramanta, Agnanta and Athamania, in  the villages of Pramanta, Agnanta and Vourgareli respectively, were the sample of this research. The pupils’ answers, which were processed and evaluated with SPSS software led to very interesting conclusions.