Rural areas account for more than 80% of the territory of the European Union and are home to some 25% of the population. While urban people often believe rural areas would be just farms and forests, the reality is quite different. Rural areas in Europe are characterized by extremely diverse physical environments, a broad range of economic activities, unique social networks and century-old cultural traditions.
In rural areas we can find industrial production sites and high-tech service centers, but also facilities for the energy and water supply of cities. In some parts of Europe we have unspoiled natural landscapes, in others monotonous cultivation areas, commercial forests, and large recreation facilities, such as theme-parks or ski-slopes. Many parts of rural Europe, however, are still dominated by a patchwork of private farmland and forests, sprinkled with villages and small towns in unique landscapes that are part of Europe’s cultural heritage.
Images of peaceful villages might suggest that life in the European countryside is without serious problems. But this is just a popular cliché. The globalization of world trade, significant changes in consumer preferences, the expected enlargement of the European Union, a new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and a serious aging of the population, have all massively affected the rural areas. Europe’s countryside is in a process of deep structural change that will most likely speed up when the applicant countries from eastern Europe become fully integrated in the Union.
Dimensions of Rural Development
Human Dimension
The basis of all rural development are people. If a rural area has massive out-migration of young people or if a large percentage of the farmers is above the age of 65 (as is the case in Italy, Spain, or Portugal), it will be very difficult to initiate endogenous economic growth.
The human dimension also includes the educational level of the population, their cultural identity and their social structure.
Human factors are not only relevant in the rural areas: we also have to consider the impact of urban lifestyle change on rural areas, such as changes in leisure activities or food consumption of the urban majority.
Economic Dimension
Many languages have sayings which point out that for ordinary men and women the economic sphere of life comes first and foremost. In the end, if there is no viable economic basis for rural life, there will be no rural life. Societies cannot indefinitely afford to subsidize living conditions only for reasons such as “landscape preservation” or “cultural heritage”.
Essential for the economic analysis is a broad perspective. Agriculture and forestry are often not the most important economic activities in rural areas. There are rural regions in Europe, where agriculture and forestry play a minor role or are almost irrelevant for the income of the population. Austrian tourist “villages” in the Alpine mountains are a case in point. But even under ordinary conditions other sectors than agriculture and forestry are getting more and more important, such as rural industry or rural services.
In recent years there have been also economic developments in rural areas that could be summarized under the term “new economy”. These include not only facilities and services of the IT industry, but also bio-technology firms. The “new economy” is sometimes combined with traditional production and tourism, such as in the direct marketing projects on the Internet for organically produced agricultural products (see for instance: “Culinarium Austria” or “Styria Beef”)
Science & Technology
Today, every sector in a modern society is affected by the breathtaking development in science and technology. The rural areas are no exception. For instance, we must certainly study the impact of modern bio-technology on agriculture, livestock production and in the food industry. Important questions in this study will be which new technologies can be expected, and how they might impact on rural development. We already can see the impact of modern information technology in some sectors of the rural economy, such as in direct marketing and tourism, where they seem to open-up new chances for economic development. We have to analyze whether these trends are likely to progress and what other sectors of rural life might be affected. For instance, rural areas in the fringe of big cities might see a new sub-urbanization due to an increase in tele-commuting.
Political Dimension
The public opinion and the participation of various social and economic groups in the political debate about development priorities is probably one of the most important dimensions of rural change. There can be no doubt that farmers’ protests and a massive lobbying of the food industry have in past years significantly affected Europe’s agricultural policies – both on the national and EU level. Rural development scenarios therefore cannot be based solely on objective bio-physical conditions or economic rationality – they must also take into account political pressures; and this clearly requires analyses of the power balance between various political actors of rural development.
Another political question of great relevance to rural areas is the expansion of the European Union. Some of the likely accession countries have still relatively large agricultural populations – especially Poland. Their rural economy will significantly depend on policies that will be decided in ongoing negotiations with the European Union.
Finally, it is also a political question how – and to what extent – the European Agriculture can be (or should be) protected from international competition. The WTO negotiations are therefore certainly a factor of European rural development.
Environment & Resources
In the long run, rural development is only possible, if it does not waste essential natural resources (such as water), if it preserves the cultural landscape, if it does not pollute soils, water and air, and if it safeguards the biological diversity of plants and animals. Other than in cities, where we can live and work in a highly artificial environment, the rural areas depend to a much greater extent on natural resources and a healthy natural environment for many of their economic activities, such as for tourism, food production, or forestry. Every new policy measure for the promotion of rural development has to be evaluated in its impact on the natural environment.
IIASA
miki blog 