Integrated Programmes for Development of Mountain Regions: the Case of the Tymfi Area
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Republic of Greece Ministry of National Economy General Directorate for Regional Policy and Investments Directorate for Planning and Evaluation of Regional Policy and Programmes Dr Kyriaki Spanopoulou Tel: +301 333 24 65, Fax: +301 333 23 90 e-mail: [email protected] Integrated Programmes for Development of Mountain Regions: The Case of the Tymfi area Athens June 2001 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. 2 1. INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES FOR MOUNTAIN REGIONS DURING THE PERIOD 2000-2006. ............................................................................................................................ 3 1.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2. INTEGRATED APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2000-2006. .............................................................................................. 4 1.3. INTEGRATED PROGRAMMES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MOUNTAIN REGIONS IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE CSF III 2000-2006 .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.1. CSF III – National Section: Integrated actions in the context of the Operational Programme ‘Rural Development – Regeneration of the Countryside 2000-2006’..................................................... 5 1.3.2. CSF III – Regional Section: Integrated actions in mountain regions in the framework of the Regional Operational Programmes ........................................................................................................ 7 2. INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: THE CASE OF THE TYMFI AREA ................... 9 2.1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 9 2.2. PROFILE OF THE REGION..................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1. Location of the Region ................................................................................................................ 10 2.2.2. Demographic trends.................................................................................................................... 10 2.3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE AREA ............................................................................................ 11 2.3.1. G.D.P. ......................................................................................................................................... 11 2.3.2. Employment – Unemployment .................................................................................................... 12 2.3.3. Main land uses ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.3.4. Sectors of productive activity...................................................................................................... 14 2.3.5. Natural and cultural environment............................................................................................... 16 2.3.6. Infrastructures............................................................................................................................. 17 2.3.7. Development corporations.......................................................................................................... 18 2.4 SWOT ANALYSIS OF TYMFI AREA ....................................................................................................... 18 2.5 PLAN FOR INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR MUNICIPALITY OF TYMFI.......................... 19 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................................... 23 1. Integrated development programmes for mountain regions during the period 2000-2006. 1.1 Introduction The mountains and mountain ranges of Greece combine in a unique fashion the natural, historical and cultural features of our landscape and form an integral part of the traditions of modern Greece. 55,795 square kilometres of Greece are made up of mountain areas, no less than 43.2% of the overall surface area of the country, while the mountain areas are home to a population of 939,000 inhabitants, 9.1% of the country’s total population. The forests of the mountain areas cover 18,680 square kilometres and account for 63.6% of the entire forest area of the country. 21.6% of all agricultural holdings in Greece are to be found in these areas – 16.9% of crop cultivation, 28.8% of livestock breeding, and 33.2% of mixed livestock rearing and crop farming. One distinctive feature of the mountain regions is that the average plot size (1.6 acres) is less than that of the national average (1.80 acres) and considerably less than that of the average plot size in the lowland regions (1.88 acres). The mountain regions possess a substantial share of the country’s livestock and its livestock-breeding holdings. For these regions, the primary sector is the most important one, providing employment for 48.7% of the regions’ workforce, compared to figures of 20.4% in the secondary and 30.9% in the tertiary sectors. Within the rare bio-diversity of the Greek mountains most of the country’s species of plant and animal life are to be found. The Greek mountains are home to numerous recognized areas of "outstanding natural beauty", NATURA 2000 sites and wetland habitats protected by the RAMSAR convention, as well as a large number of protected traditional towns and villages. The mid-1950’s saw the beginning of that movement of people away from the Greek countryside which in the decades that followed was to lead to a positive haemorrhaging of the rural population. Migration from the countryside to the cities, and emigration to foreign lands, in search of employment and better living conditions, was the most important feature in the history of Greece’s rural regions during these decades. According to National Statistics Office figures, in 1951 rural population accounted for 47% of the overall population of Greece, while by 1961 the figure had fallen to 44%, by 1971 to 35%, by 1981 to 30% and by 1991 to 28%. At the same time, the population of the country’s mountain regions was declining as people moved down from the mountain areas to swell the population of the lowlands. In 1951 those living in the mountain regions had accounted for 15% of the total population. By 1971 that figure had fallen to 12%, by 1981 to 9.7% and by 1991 to 9.1%. National Statistics Office figures show that the percentage of the mountain regions’ population aged 0-14 is below the national average, while that of the population aged 65+ is above the national average. As the mountain communities have contracted in size, the desertion of the mountain regions has begun to disrupt the whole ecosystem; distinctive cultural features have begun to disappear, and the Greek economy is being deprived of important wealth- producing potential. Despite the improvements they have brought, the policies followed to date have not succeeded in initiating mechanisms of real development and reversing the adverse economic and social trends. For the period 2000-2006 a package of measures funded by the EAGGF, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) are designed to support development in these mountain regions. First of all, the rural policy financed by the EAGGF – Guarantees has contributed – and continues to contribute – to supporting and improving farmers’ incomes through higher prices and subsidies. A series of measures within the context of Regulation 1257/99 – compensatory amounts per hectare of farming land in disadvantaged and mountain regions in order to top up incomes of farmers affected by natural disadvantages; early retirement; afforestation of agricultural land; undertaking of agro-environmental obligations – are intended to support agricultural development. Meanwhile, in recognition of the need for a multi-sector approach to agricultural development, as acknowledged by the 1984 Green Book, the EU is seeking the integrated development of rural regions – a development which will secure their socio- economic cohesion and the protection of their environment. In pursuit of such an integrated approach the EU has called on the services of all three Structural Funds: the Guidance section of the EAGGF, the ERDF and the ESF. 1.2. Integrated approach to the development of the mountain regions in the context of the Regional Development Plan 2000-2006. The National Regional Development Plan (SPA) 2000-2006, incorporated a special thematic unit on mountain regions. The SPA tackles the problem of the marginalization and abandonment of the mountain regions through a number of integrated plans in specific areas of programming – the intention being to reintegrate the mountain regions into the country’s process of production and to prevent further decline in population. The strategy designed to attain these objectives focuses on the following main areas of activity: • Improving access to mountain areas. Creation of a contemporary transport network, involving interventions to the regional, municipal and local networks. • Improving the quality of life. Securing the necessary infrastructures to reduce disparities