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Seminar "Urban-rural linkages fostering sustainable development" Brussels, 23 January 2009 "Urban-rural linkages fostering sustainable development: the rural development perspective" Loretta Dormal Marino Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development European Commission Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to be with you today at this second seminar on urban-rural linkages and to have the opportunity to discuss the role of these linkages in fostering sustainable development. I thank DG REGIO for the opportunity to make a few introductory remarks to today's discussion from the perspective of EU rural development policy. Sustainable development is commonly defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development encompasses environmental, economic and social issues. Our attention today will focus on environmental issues: those identified as priorities in the EU sustainable development strategy - climate change and clean energy, sustainable transport and the conservation and management of natural resources – but also those that are outside it such as land use and spatial planning. However, we need to bear in mind throughout that sustainable development is about integrated policies and activities. This has implications in both sectoral and territorial terms and it explains why 1 "Urban-rural linkages: the rural development policy perspective" 23/1/09 effective partnerships between rural and urban areas – and coordination of rural and urban policies - are important. You will notice that I stress partnership. The old hierarchical relationship between rural and urban areas – where rural areas were viewed simply as suppliers of food to more developed urban areas - has gone. Rural areas are multifunctional. They still provide resources, both commodities and the less tangible natural and cultural resources we increasingly value such as biodiversity and traditional landscapes. But they are also the location for economic activities such as knowledge-intensive services. This more complex reality should be reflected in the way we conceptualize the relationship between rural and urban areas. At the heart of concern about sustainable development is the question of the use of resources. I think that the relationship between rural and urban areas has become more topical as competition for resources, such as land or water, has intensified and as we become aware of greater pressures on the environment. Increased awareness of the need to use our resources efficiently also affects our understanding of the relationship between rural and urban areas. It is more evident than ever that they are mutually inter-dependent partners and that a competitive relationship is inefficient. Optimum use of resources will only come through co-operation between rural and urban areas. The issue of land use illustrates the challenge. At EU level, what geographers term 'natural surface', mainly farmland and forests, covers about 90% of the land surface: of course, the shares within individual 2 "Urban-rural linkages: the rural development policy perspective" 23/1/09 Member States differ considerably. This sounds like a high percentage: some will wonder whether it would matter if some of this land were used for housing or business premises, to relieve pressure on congested urban areas. But urban centres are generally in the areas with the most fertile soils – valleys and estuaries – and so increasing urbanization means the loss of productive agricultural land and areas of biodiversity. If developed, such areas take decades – if ever - to return to their natural state. In the past 20 years, Europe's built-up, artificial surface area has increased by 20%, much faster than our population growth of 6%. This is not sustainable and it is why areas such as the region around Delft in the Netherlands have called a halt to further urban development to protect remaining green areas in the interests of both rural and urban communities. The threat of climate change has heightened the importance of urban – rural partnerships in making sustainable use of natural resources. Preserving rural areas and the resources they contain from urban sprawl matters more now that rural areas are seen as actual or potential suppliers of renewable energy, whether in terms of bio-mass, bio-fuels, wind or hydro. Taking into account the projected severe impacts of climate change on habitats and bio-diversity, the role of rural areas and specifically of farmers as providers of environmental and ecosystem services will increase in importance. In the context of a changing climate, water management will be a particularly critical one for the rural-urban relationship. A contrasting 3 "Urban-rural linkages: the rural development policy perspective" 23/1/09 picture is forming in Europe, with the north becoming wetter and the south becoming drier. The resulting floods on one hand and droughts on the other will have a considerable impact on different territories and require integrated approaches. In northern and central Europe, land management in rural areas will matter increasingly in avoiding or reducing the impact of floods on urban areas. In southern Europe, increasingly frequent and severe droughts will pose the challenge of reconciling the needs of farmers with those of city dwellers and of tourist resorts. Some regions (such as Cyprus) already have systems in place to treat and recycle water so that it can be used by both tourism and agricultural sectors. Other examples will follow as the challenge grows more acute. We shall hear more about how rural and urban areas are jointly tackling these issues in the presentation of the case studies for this seminar. However, as I said earlier, sustainable development relies on the integration of policies and actions. I therefore want to address the question of governance, which I believe is central to the linkages between rural and urban areas. My instinct is that, where there are frictions or missed opportunities, the problem lies in a failure of governance, whether through poor channels of communication or insufficiently-adapted administrative structures. You will not be surprised if I mention the Leader method in this context. From being a self-contained Community initiative, Leader has become an obligatory part of the EU's rural development programmes, with the scope for implementing a much broader range of rural 4 "Urban-rural linkages: the rural development policy perspective" 23/1/09 development activities than previously. Whereas in the past, Leader was used as an instrument to tackle economic diversification and quality of life, in the period 2007-2013 most rural development programmes will implement measures relating to competitiveness and sustainability via the Leader method. As many of you will know, this method is based on integrating local constituents into the decision-making process and on strengthening the capacity of both individual local actors and the governance capacity of regions as whole. Contrary to some perceptions, Leader enables inclusive partnerships with urban settlements of a certain size, particularly the small market towns which are an integral part of rural areas. (The size of urban centres included may be as high as 30 000 inhabitants, depending on the Member State.) I believe that the Leader method has much to offer as a model for creating sustainable, inclusive partnerships between rural and urban areas, not least because it provides a tool which can be applied at local, regional or even trans-national level, depending on the wishes of the partners involved. An example of this can be found in the rural development programme of Saarland in Germany, an area with a high population density (410 inhabitants /km2) which faces the problem of urban sprawl. Here, the Leader method is used to develop linkages between rural and urban areas and to ensure that the allocation of functions in terms of land use is examined by local action groups and – if necessary – revised. 5 "Urban-rural linkages: the rural development policy perspective" 23/1/09 In conclusion, I should like to stress that, from the rural development policy perspective, urban and rural areas are partners, not competitors, and that they exist in a state of mutual inter-dependence which the need for more sustainable use of resources will intensify. Particularly in the EU context, we also need to recognize that there are different types of rural and urban area, depending on settlement patterns, geographical features and levels of economic development and that consequently there is no one single 'urban-rural relationship', but a variety of relationships which need to be constructed to reflect the needs of the partners involved and to create win-win scenarios. This will be all the more likely if we avoid focusing on narrow micro-regions – a city or urban agglomeration and only its immediate rural surroundings – but look instead at the wider regional, national or trans-national context in which the inter-relationship between rural and urban areas is more complex. I hope that today's seminar will deepen our understanding of the nature of rural-urban linkages, the approaches that are being developed and particularly whether there are unaddressed policy needs at EU, national, regional or local level. Above all, I welcome the opportunity which this seminar gives for the exchange of experience and for the deepening of partnerships between stakeholders in rural and urban areas. 6