RUFUS/TRUST Workshop, Diversities of rural areas in Europe and beyond, Hannover, 25-26 August 2010 Disentangling the global in the rural Michael Woods Aberystwyth University m.woods@aber.ac.uk
DERREG Developing Europe s Rural Regions in the Era of Globalisation European Commission Framework Programme 7 January 2009 December 2011 www.derreg.eu
DERREG k k Aberystwyth University (UK) (Lead partner) Leibniz Institut fur Landerkunde (Germany) Mendel University in Brno (Czech Republic) National University of Ireland, Galway NeVork (Slovenia/Lithuania) Nordregio (Sweden) Universitat des Saarlandes (Germany) Univerza v Ljubljana (Slovenia) Wageningen Universiteit (Netherlands)
Globalization and Rural Europe Globalization is seen to touch every walk of life opening doors, creating opportunities, raising apprehensions our response to globalization has moved to the heart of the EU policy agenda European Commission (2007) The European Interest: Succeeding in the age of globalization the challenges of globalization apply not only to farming but also to the rural economies, landscapes and societies in which that farming activity takes place Agriculture Commissioner Fischer Boel, 2007
Globalization and Rural Europe Relational perspective on globalization Globalization as a complex, multidimensional and sometimes contradictory bundle of processes Globalization proceeds by engagement, negotiation and contestation with local actors in particular regional settings
Relational theory of globalization In a relational understanding of neoliberal globalisation places are criss-crossings in the wider power-geometries that constitute both themselves and the global. On this view local places are not simply always the victims of the global; nor are they always politically defensible redoubts against the global different places will stand in contrasting relations to the global. (Doreen Massey, 2005, For Space)
Relational theory of globalization Through these entanglements, intersections and entrapments, the experience of globalization changes rural places, but it never eradicates the local. Rather, the networks, flows and actors introduced by globalization processes fuse and combine with extant local entities to produce new hybrid formations. In this way, places in the emergent global countryside retain their local distinctiveness, but they are also different to how they were before. (Michael Woods, 2007, in Progress in Human Geography)
Globalization and Rural Europe Globalization is refashioning the diversity of rural Europe not eroding it. Policy implications: Regional actors have the opportunity to intervene in globalization processes and to shape outcomes in their locality Experiences and outcomes of globalization will be different in different rural regions Developing effective policy means understanding how globalization works at the local scale
DERREG Four thematic work packages WP1 Global engagement and the local embeddedness of rural businesses WP2 International mobility and migration of rural populations WP3 Environmental capital and sustainable rural development WP4 Capacity building, governance and knowledge systems WP5 Synthesis of results and interpretative model
Case Study Regions 1. Oevre Norrland, Sweden 2. West region (Roscommon), Ireland 3. Alytus, Lithuania 4. Comarca de Verín, Spain 5. Goriška, Slovenia 6. Pomurska, Slovenia 7. Jihomoravský kraj, Czech Republic 8. Westerkwartier, the Netherlands 9. Regierungsbezirk Dresden, Germany 10.Saarland, Germany
Business engagement and embeddedness Electronic survey of 195 SMEs in 5 regions, with follow-up interviews Methodology designed by Nordregio mapping the transactional, collaborative and support spaces of enterprises Transactional space sales and purchases Collaborative space working with other firms in R&D, developing markets etc Support space access to capital and information
WP1: Emerging findings Most businesses have a transactional space that extends beyond their region, and a high proportion have international transactions Proportion of transactions at different scales for survey respondents in Oevre Norrland (from Dubois 2010)
WP1: Emerging findings Most businesses have a transactional space that extends beyond their region, and a high proportion have international transactions Proportion of transactions at different scales by category of firm in Oevre Norrland (from Dubois 2010)
WP1: Emerging findings Most businesses have a transactional space that extends beyond their region, and a high proportion have international transactions There is a strong correlation between the shape of a firm s transactional space and the shape of its collaborative space However most firms have a support space that is constrained at the regional or national scale
International Migration Interviews with 113 migrants in six regions, focused on three key groups Migrant workers (EU and extra-eu) Foreign home-owners (Cross-border commuters, second home owners, permanent amenity migrants) Return migrants
WP2 Emerging findings All study regions are experiencing an increasing degree of international migration The reach and character of international migration varies between regions The migration profile of each region is distinctive
Map of source and type of migrants interviewed in 6 study regions (from Nienaber and Frys 2010)
WP2 Emerging findings The attraction of a rural setting is a common feature of migrants accounts Experiences of integration into local communities vary significantly Contributions to the local economy also vary A region needs to develop to acquire the capacity to make full use of the skills and expertise of international migrants
Environmental Capital and Sustainable Development How global environmental discourses are translated into regional development strategies How rural regions can utilise environmental resources to service global needs as part of sustainable development Analysis of treatment of environmental issues in regional media and regional development strategies in five regions
Articles on environmental issues published in the Dresden regional media, 2000 (grey) and 2008 (orange), by catergory (from DERREG Deliverable 3.1)
WP3 Emerging findings Reporting of environmental issues, including global issues, has increased substantial in the last decade in most regions However, most reporting is of local or regional environmental problems and concerns Global issues such as climate change are mentioned in most regional development strategies, but greater prominence is given to regional environment problems and pressures The incorporation of global environmental concerns into regional development is strongly mediated by local experiences and issues
WP3 Emerging findings Sustainable development strategies similarly balance external models with available regional resources Organic farming and renewable energy production are highlighted as priorities in most of the study regions Other priorities for sustainable development tend to vary considerably, with regionally-specific emphases on areas such as forestry and tourism
Capacity Building, Governance and Knowledge Systems How rural regions can develop and maintain the capacity to engage effectively with globalization Capacity linked to institutional structure for knowledge exchange, learning and innovation Drawing on concept of learning regions Mapping structures and actors in knowledge and innovation in 6 regions public administration supporting policies 1 b region 3 development initiatives learning region a c facilities 2 knowledge
Local organisations: -AVN -Vereiniging Gr. Dorpen -Boeren & Natuur S.W. -Abel Tasman Kabinet -VVV Leek -SBB -Gr. Landschap region Examples of Networks/Initiatives: -Biomass -Wichterwest -MEI - Dwarsdiep Communal house Regio Lokket Touristic promoters Integrated Dev. Pro. Wstkwtier LAG WSI Countryside Exchange Brug Toekomst Atelier Learning region map for Westerkwartier (from D4.1) Steering Group Groningen West EU LNV OWC public administration Public funded Research, Education & Advice Example: GKC A-programme (Regional Transition) Education Research Advice Knowledge Institutes (public funded) & Agencies knowledge Dirk Roep & Wiebke Wellbrock
WP4 Emerging findings Even small rural regions have a very rich and complex web of actors engaged in regional learning and innovation Key role of LEADER as an important institutional arrangement in all study regions that can be used to support and facilitate regional learning and innovation processes Variations in the presence and involvement of public knowledge institutions, such as universities, colleges and research institutes
Towards a tentative typology Not an objective of DERREG to produce a typology tool to allow comparison of case study findings and generalisation Characterisation of case study regions rather than a comprehensive classification Based on analysis of quantitative and qualitative data in case study contextual papers Bottom-up
Towards a tentative typology Resource-rich periphery Mediterranean periphery Liberalising post-socialist areas Traditional agricultural regions Rural amenity regions (Post-)industrial countryside Peri-urban countryside
Towards a tentative typology Resource-rich periphery Natural resources for mining, forestry, cabon- and renewable energy, benefiting from global resources boom (Oevre Norrland; parts of Finland, Norway, E Europe) Mediterranean periphery Economic restructuring away from agriculture, but limited development of industry or tourism; high unemployment and out-migration (Comarca de Verin; parts of Spain, Italy, Greece) Liberalising post-socialist areas Economic growth linked to liberalisation and restructuring, but shaped by legacy of socialist economic planning (Alytus, South Moravia; parts of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Baltic States)
Towards a tentative typology Traditional agricultural regions Agriculture declining but still accounts for a tenth or more of employment/gva and dominates land use; small farms predominate, agriculture reflected in profile of industry and tourism (County Roscommon, Pomurska; Parts of France, Mid Wales & English border regions) Rural amenity regions Relative prosperity linked to significant tourism based on rural and environmental amenities; amenity in-migration including second homes (Goriska; Cornwall, Cumbria, Alpine parts of Austria, France, Italy)
Towards a tentative typology (Post-)industrial countryside Economic restructuring reflecting decline of traditional industries (e.g. mining) and/or manufacturing branch plants, but industry still significant to economy; urbanised settlement pattern and social structure, but rural land uses predominate (Direktionsbezirk Dresden, Saarland; Detmold, East Midlands, Nord departement, Piedmont) Peri-urban countryside Within urban employment field, providing rural fringe functions in services and amenities, but farming still present and maintaining a distinctive rural landscape and/or cultural heritage (Westerkwartier; Pennine fringe of Manchester, Albuferia district outside Valencia)
Resource-rich Periphery Mediterranean Periphery Oevre Norrland (S) Comarca de Verin (E) Parts of Finland, Norway, E Europe Parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece Liberalising Post- Socialist Areas Traditional Agricultural Areas Alytus (LT) South Moravia (CZ) Co. Roscommon (IRL) Pomurska (SI) Parts of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Baltic States Parts of France; Mid Wales & English borders Rural Amenity Areas Goriska (SI) Cornwall, Cumbria, Alpine regions (Post-)Industrial Countryside Dresden (D) Saarland (D) East Midlands, Nord, Piedmont Peri-urban countryside Westerkwartier (NL) Pennines; Albuferia
Traditional Agricultural RUFUS Type 1 DERREG Mediterranean Periphery Type 2 Type 3 Rural Amenity Liberalising Post-Socialist Type 4 (Post)- Industrial Countryside Type 5 Resource Rich Periphery Urban Peri-urban countryside
Traditional Agricultural RUFUS Type 1 DERREG D = Dresden O = Oevre Norrland S = Saarland Mediterranean Periphery (Post)- Industrial Countryside D Type 2 Type 3 Type 5 Rural Amenity Liberalising Post-Socialist O Resource Rich Periphery Type 4 W = Westerkwartier S Urban W Peri-urban countryside
Questions How do different characterisations of regions relate to experiences of /exposure to globalization? How do different characterisations of regions influence capacities to respond to globalization? Is it appropriate to transfer lessons and examples of best practice within different types of region?