An integrated approach to assess options for multi-functional use of rural areas: special issue “Regional Environmental Change”

Abstract

The concept of rural development has undergone an important transformation process during the last decades, which went hand-in-hand with changes in the European countryside and new demands from society. In the late 1980s, rural policy underwent a strategic rethinking; in 1988, with the Communication on The Future of Rural Society, the European Commission promoted the idea of ‘‘rural development from within’’, according to which endogenous social and environmental resources were to substitute exogenous resources in rural development policies. In 1992, these ideas influenced the McSharry Reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Besides the beginning of decoupling of agricultural subsidies from production, the most important accompanying measures of the 1992 CAP reform aimed at the promotion of agriculture based on quality production and respect for the environment, including payments to farmers operating in less favoured areas. This was promoted through measures such as the introduction of compulsory set-aside arrangements for arable lands, the adoption of agri-environmental measures, and new afforestation measures. The whole strategy aimed both at the agricultural sector and at the wider economic development of rural areas. In 1996, the Cork Conference on Rural Development promoted the idea of rural development integrating the social, environmental and economic dimensions of rural areas. The ideas of the Cork Declaration were elaborated in the Agenda 2000 strategy (1997) and introduced the Rural Development policy based on the idea of a multifunctional agricultural sector encouraging the development of alternative sources of income in rural areas while safeguarding the environment, which should also help facing the reform of the Common Markets Organisation. The main objectives of the following 1999 CAP Reform regarding rural development, which became the second pillar of the CAP, aimed at the integration of the structural policy into rural development, the promotion of the multifunctional character of agriculture, the improvement of the quality and safety of agricultural production through environmental sustainable practices, and more attention to Member States and specific needs of regions. The 1999 CAP Reform promoted a better integration of rural development and environmental considerations into the CAP, by including all the accompanying measures on support for rural development. Agri-environmental measures became compulsory for rural development plans, while still remaining voluntary for farmers. Finally, the main economic objectives of the 2003 midterm reform were to make the CAP simpler, more consumer and tax payer oriented, to help farmers to become more competitive and more market oriented in their decisions, to safeguard the rural economy and the environment, to facilitate World Trade Organization (WTO) talks through a less trade distorting support system, and to increase the quality of agricultural products. The 2003 CAP R. Simoncini (&) Economic Sciences Department, University of Florence, Via delle Pandette 9, 50127 Florence, Italy e-mail: riccardo.simoncini@unifi.it