Economic opportunities in the mountain area are limited by the topographical and structural drawbacks of the site in question. Altered basic conditions lead to the mountain area and in particular agriculture and forestry increasingly running into difficulties, which in turn will (further) undermine economic, ecological and social stability in future.

At the same time, it is likely that many peripheral and structurally weak regions are currently standing at a watershed in terms of social perception and policy support, and consequently also in terms of their regional orientation. This concerns not only the need for action arising from the basic economic and policy conditions, but rather also the challenge of recognising and making enterprising use of opportunities. Like the previous development, these prospects lead to the question of the sustainability of the mountain area.