Sustainable Livelihood Development Research Articles

Develop Sustainable Livelihoods for Fishermen in the North Central Region of Vietnam - Case Study for Nghe An Province

Livelihoods and sustainable livelihoods play a very essential role in coastal fishing communities in Vietnam. In this paper, based on the sustainable livelihood model, we evaluate the current situation of coastal fishing livelihoods in the North central region of Vietnam with case study for Nghe An province and identifies favorable and unfavorable factors for accessing livelihood development resources by fishermen. For the research methods, secondary data from selected governmental agencies were gathered, and 200 fishermen were interviewed to collect primary data. The results of this research indicate that the income of fishermen is quite good but not stable due to their dependence on marine resources. Moreover, the types of livelihoods in the coastal zone of Nghe An province face certain difficulties with their specific occupational characteristics such as lack of capital, no stable job, reduced marine resources, weather dependence, lack of labor. Based on these, 3 groups of solutions and policies are proposed to promote sustainable livelihood development for coastal fishermen in Nghe An province, such as renewing fishing activities, promoting specialization and associating in maritime manufacturing and processing, as well as developing a variety of occupational groups associated with the exploitation of marine resources.

The Determinants of Participation in Livelihood Strategies: The Case of Resettlement Chewaka District, Buno Badele Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Due to land scarcity, agricultural land infertility, high population pressure and recurrent drought, the government of Ethiopia implemented resettlement programs in 2003 EC before 15 years. The program aimed at addressing the problem of drought and famine through improved access to land and availing institutional support. In light of this, the objective of the study is to identify existing livelihood strategies adopted by rural households and analyze factors that determine households’ participation to choose alternative livelihood strategies in Buno Bedele Zone, Chewaka resettlement district. The data were collected through both primary and secondary data collection methods. The data were obtained from 137 sample household heads that were selected through simple random sampling techniques. The study used both descriptive and econometrics for analysis. The descriptive statistics were used to explain socio economic characters of the household comparison which it resettlers have better encouragement than the hosts community,… and it was used to identify the existence of livelihood strategies that was 60.72 percent of households total annual income from the on farm strategy (agriculture) and 23.46/15.81percent was from off/nonfarm activities. Multinomial logit model applied to analyses the factors that determine households’ participation to choose alternative livelihood strategies. In this regard, the econometric investigation indicate that out of the total seventeen variables included in the models four variables in non and off farm activities, ten variables in off farm and on farm strategies, eight variables in combination of on farm, off farm and nonfarm activities and four variables in on farm and nonfarm activities were solely or simultaneously in different strategies significant including age of household heads, family size, dependent ratio, settlement fragmentation, number of oxen, irrigation access, education access, land size, livestock holding size, sex of household head,, market distance, total annual income from on farm, membership in local association, extension service, agricultural input use and credit access are found to be the significant determinants up to 10% probability levels. The results of this study recommend that resettlement implementation should be for sustainable livelihood development. To do so, higher concern would be given to the environmental issue and both agricultural intensification and non/off farm strategies could be strengthened to raise positively farmers’ participation in various livelihood strategy.

Decadal dynamics and challenges for seagrass beds management in Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area, Central Vietnam

Seagrass beds in central Vietnam plays an important role in the aquatic ecosystem. The area of seagrass beds in Cu Lao Cham Marine Protected Area (MPA), central Vietnam, has been reported to be declining in recent years. However, there has not been any study on assessing the changes in the area of seagrass beds in Cu Lao Cham MPA, especially by the application of remote sensing technology for evaluating temporal and spatial changes. The aim of this study is to establish the current status and document historical changes using maps of seagrass area in Cu Lao Cham MPA, central Vietnam, during the period of 2003–2017. This is the first study on assessing the temporal and spatial changes in the area of seagrass beds in central Vietnam using remote sensing technology. The study integrated field surveys, satellite remote sensing and GIS methods to analyse ALOS AVNIR-2 and Landsat satellite image data during the period of 2003–2017. The Kappa coefficients and overall accuracies of the years 2003, 2010 and 2017 were generally higher than 89% and 0.83, respectively, in all cases. Seagrass beds have mainly distributed near small islands such as Hon La, Hon Tai and Hon Dai. In particular, seagrass beds have almost disappeared at Bai Ong and Bai Huong in April 2017. In the period of 2003–2017, the area of the seagrass bed experienced significant changes. The seagrass area loss was 40.17 ha, and it gained 58.6 ha in the period of 2003–2010. In the period of 2010–2017, the loss of seagrass area was 68.76 ha, and the new addition was 7.27 ha. The study has identified a number of impacts of declining seagrass areas including marine pollution, changes in natural conditions and some other direct impacts from human activities and tourism. The results of this study could contribute to conservation of seagrass resources and sustainable livelihood development for the local community.

Communities’ Livelihood Vulnerability to Climate Variability in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has experienced more than 10 major drought episodes since the 1970s. Evidence has shown that climate change exacerbates the situation and presents a daunting challenge to predominantly rain-fed agricultural livelihoods. The aim of this study was to analyze the extent and sources of smallholder famers’ livelihood vulnerability to climate change/variability in the Upper Blue Nile basin. We conducted a household survey (n = 391) across three distinct agroecological communities and a formative composite index of livelihood vulnerability (LVI) was constructed. The Mann–Kendall test and the standard precipitation index (SPI) were employed to analyze trends of rainfall, temperature, and drought prevalence for the period from 1982 to 2016. The communities across watersheds showed a relative difference in the overall livelihood vulnerability index. Aba Gerima (midland) was found to be more vulnerable, with a score of 0.37, while Guder (highland) had a relatively lower LVI with a 0.34 index score. Given similar exposure to climate variability and drought episodes, communities’ livelihood vulnerability was mainly attributed to their low adaptive capacity and higher sensitivity indicators. Adaptive capacity was largely constrained by a lack of participation in community-based organizations and a lack of income diversification. This study will have practical implications for policy development in heterogeneous agroecological regions for sustainable livelihood development and climate change adaptation programs.

Farmer adoptability for livelihood transformations in the Mekong Delta: a case in Ben Tre province

Sustainable livelihood development is an ongoing challenge worldwide, and has regained importance due to threats of water shortages and climate change. To cope with changing climatic, demographic and market conditions in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta (VMD) an agricultural transformation process has been suggested in the recent Mekong Delta Plan. This agricultural transformation process requires the implementation of alternative livelihood models. The majority of current agricultural livelihood models in the VMD have been introduced by the government in a top-down manner. In this study, we applied a bottom-up approach to understand the motivations and abilities of local farmers to adopt alternative livelihood models. It is based on the MOTA methodological framework, which is further tested with the use of multivariate analyses. The study was conducted in Ben Tre coastal province. Results showed that farmers’ motivations and abilities to apply alternative models vary substantially among different groups, driven by their perceptions on triggers and opportunities. Acknowledging this diversity is essential to the development of agricultural transformation plans. Furthermore, based on the analysis, a projection of the precise support that communities need to supplement their knowledge, skills and financial capacities, as well as interventions to reduce the risks of new livelihood models, is given.

Indigenous peoples' livelihood practices in south‐eastern Bangladesh and the question of sustainability

AbstractVoices from different international angles have argued on the rights of the indigenous peoples, threats to their identity and livelihood, and their sustainability. In Bangladesh, however, despite the rich biological and cultural diversity, and environmental resources, the indigenous peoples' dominated south‐eastern (Chittagong Hill Tract [CHT]) part of the country has remained one of the most underprivileged, lacking in virtually all development indicators. Hence, this paper reviews the livelihood practices of the indigenous peoples in the CHT and their sustainability. The aim is to advance discussions for streamlining efforts towards sustainable livelihood development, especially in the CHT. The narrative review finds that the indigenous peoples have differed identities and engage largely in subsistence agriculture‐based livelihood practices with a little diversification, and efforts towards development of livelihood sustainability in the CHT have just begun to come to the front burner. In essence, sustainability of indigenous peoples' livelihood in the CHT is at risk and requires requisite actions.

Promoting ecosystem-friendly irrigation farm management practices for sustainable livelihoods in Africa: the Ghanaian experience

The contribution of farming to food security, nutrition, employment and poverty alleviation in Africa cannot be overemphasised. This paper analysed the effects of adopting ecosystem-based farm management practices (EBFMPs) on the livelihoods of irrigation farmers in Africa, using Ghana as a case study. The paper employed mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative techniques) for purposes of triangulation and cross validation of the issues. Data were collected using key informant interviews, focus group discussions and administration of a questionnaire to 300 households. A treatment effect model was employed to estimate the effects of adopting EBFMPs on livelihoods of farmers. Specifically, the average treatment effect (ATE) and average treatment effect on the treated (ATET) were estimated and found to be positive and significant. This means that the adoption of EBFMPs has positive and significant implications for farmers’ livelihoods. The paper therefore recommends that irrigation farmers should be educated on the importance of using ecosystem-friendly irrigation practices as this is critical for sustainable livelihood development of the poor and vulnerable, especially irrigators in Ghana who rely on the exigencies of the weather to survive. Irrigation farmers should also be educated on the functioning of irrigation landscape (in terms of water flow from up-stream area to down-stream), and how their activities and practices affect the irrigation water supply system.

A framework for deriving measures of chronic anthropogenic disturbance: Surrogate, direct, single and multi-metric indices in Brazilian Caatinga

The development of multi-metric indices of chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD) from disparate disturbance indicators represents a major challenge for understanding the impacts of CAD on biodiversity, especially in tropical dry areas where livelihoods of local populations are highly dependent on natural resources. We present a conceptual framework for deriving variably integrated, multi-metric measures of CAD from disparate disturbance indicators. Our framework has three steps: (1) identifying the main sources of CAD in the target region, and quantifying them using data of varying levels of spatial and intensity precision; (2) classifying the sources of disturbance into general disturbance pressures, and deriving an index for each; and (3) combining the individual disturbance pressure indices into a fully integrated index that characterizes the overall level of CAD. We apply this framework to Catimbau National Park in the Brazilian Caatinga, using 12 primary data sources to derive disturbance pressure indices relating to livestock, wood extraction and people pressure. The meaningfulness of pressure and overall CAD indices were validated by reference to variation in ant communities. Our analysis revealed notable findings. First, indirect measures from the geographic and socio-ecological context were poorly correlated with direct, field-based measurements, and were therefore of questionable reliability. Second, the three main disturbance pressures were largely independent of each other, which points to complex patterns of resource use by local communities. Third, different weightings of component disturbance pressure indices had little influence on the Global index, making our Global CAD index somewhat insensitive to assessments of the relative importance of different disturbance pressures. Finally, our results caution against a reliance on multivariate ordination to derive integrated indices of disturbance from disparate data sources. Our multi-scale integration of disturbance data can facilitate the analysis of the resource use effects on biodiversity, contributing to effective conservation management and sustainable livelihood development.

Vulnerability to climate change among maize-dependent smallholders in three districts of Ethiopia

Climate change vulnerability may differ among small farming communities and depend on combinations of multiple social and biophysical processes. In this study, we assessed vulnerability to climate change among maize-dependent smallholders in three districts of Ethiopia. Household socio-demographic factors, land use system, access to food, natural hazard, livelihood strategy and social network data were collected and subsequently analysed by the livelihood vulnerability index and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Vulnerability Index approaches. Results show that within the same production system, smallholder farmers experience different degrees of climate change vulnerability. This variation in climate change vulnerability is highly and significantly explained by very localized socio-economic factors such as household educational level, access to drought-resistant crop varieties, extent of family ties with social groups and local organizations, and quality of rural water supply and health infrastructures along with biophysical factors like land size and soil fertility status. It is, therefore, suggested that recognizing smallholder farmers’ relative vulnerability to climate change provides a range of effective coping strategies that would help to better build household resilience capacity and promote sustainable livelihood development. Hence, policymakers and development organizations need to focus on better strengthening human and institutional capacity through enhanced education and continuous training on climate change impact, and efficient and sustainable intensification through crop rotation, fertilizer use, rainwater harvesting and farm diversification that increase productivity by restoring soil and agroecosystem health.

Farmers’s perception and strategies for the development of sustainable livelihoods in disaster prone areas

Empowerment is a strategy to develop and build economy and community in both physically and mentally. One effort is to help generate a plan for community development in disaster-prone areas. For that, this study aims to develop farmers profile, to describe farmer perception towards farming effort and to formulate the empowerment strategies in the development of sustainable livelihoods in disaster prone areas. This study uses mixed methods. Farmers population use in this study were live in two villages of landslides prone areas, that are Beruk and Wonorejo which belongs Jatiyoso Subdistrict Karanganyar regency (Central Java). In depth structured interview was conducted to 150 farmers under Focus Group Discussion (FGD) followed with. data analysis using SWOT analysis. The results showed level of farm management is in anxiety level, perception of farmers toward the availability of agricultural inputs is at a reasonable level and the agricultural information becomes the reduction factors. The result of QSPM matrix calculation through SWOT analysis on livelihood of agricultural, resulting some strategy according to the priority level that are development of conservation farming, strengthening the farmers capacity in agricultural products processing, strengthening farmer groups and improving the performance of agriculture extensionist.

Study on Livelihood Assets-Based Spatial Differentiation of the Income of Natural Tourism Communities

Livelihood assets have a significant impact on the livelihood options and income of tourism communities. The level of tourism development and the type of natural tourism communities often exhibit spatial differences. By using the method of sustainable livelihood and examining the main factors that affect community income from the perspective of spatial heterogeneity, it is possible to identify the livelihood assets that play the most critical role in the development of sustainable livelihoods and income generation in the community, which helps provide more reasonable advice on tourism destination management. In this article, we conducted a case study on 16 communities in and around Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China, and divided the communities into three types, i.e., core attraction areas, service support areas, and secondary service support areas, according to the geographical and spatial characteristics, tourism development level, and livelihood type. The participatory assessment method was adopted to obtain in-depth interviews and questionnaire data from 256 rural households, which was utilized to construct four multivariate regression models to investigate the effect of livelihood assets on community income and the spatial difference of the factors that affect community income. The results showed that (1) livelihood assets exert a significant impact on community income in tourist areas, with a remarkable spatial difference; (2) the types of livelihoods and the effective utilization of livelihood assets have a significant impact on farmers’ incomes; (3) the type and amount of livelihood assets have a certain impact on the choice of livelihood; and (4) a farmer’s livelihood type determines the utilization method and the effective utilization of livelihood assets.

The effect of rural tourism development on the farmers’ life satisfaction in Three Gorges Reservoir, China

The paper use Logistic model to analyze the effect of rural tourism development on the farmers’ life satisfaction in Three Gorges Reservoir. The results show: hysical capital and financial capital top three increase regions that are Wushan county, Wuxi county and Fengdu district, And this are also farmers “relatively satisfied” and “very satisfied” increase larger regions. So, rural tourism development not only have an impact on farmers ‘life satisfaction, and its maturity is also a direct impact on farmers’ life satisfaction. Therefore, the have a positive effect of rural tourism development on the farmers’ life satisfaction, local governments should actively seek local realities rural tourism development mode, make coordination policy development of rural tourism and sustainable livelihoods of farmers.

Revealing major terrestrial- and marine species-based provisioning ecosystem services provided by the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes of Lefke Region in North Cyprus

The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate major terrestrial- and marine species-based provisioning ecosystem services (PESs) provided by the socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) of Lefke Region located in North Cyprus. The objectives of the study include: (1) identifying major terrestrial-based PESs collected from the SEPLS (e.g. wild plants) and (2) recording major marine-based PESs caught (e.g. fish species), and (3) proposing several policy responses based on the results of (1) and (2) and on a review of the literature and current policies. The method of the study consists of two parts. Primarily, a conceptual framework for understanding the linkages among the SEPLS, PESs and landscape planning in Lefke Region was developed. Secondly, a participatory research approach was implemented to identify major PESs gathered from the SEPLS in the region. A range of data collection tools (e.g. a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews) were used to collect data on the research questions in 12 villages from December 2015 to March 2016. The precise data on the PESs were obtained from 106 participants that responded to the questionnaire. Assessment of the questionnaire showed that the local people collect various terrestrial (49 plant and 5 mushroom species)- and marine (30 fish species)-based PESs from the SEPLS for a variety of purposes (e.g. private own use, income generation and nature experience). Finally, potential policy responses for better conservation and sustainable management of the PESs and the SEPLS (e.g. development of a national landscape planning strategy for North Cyprus and integration of the concept of ecosystem services) of the region were examined. It is expected that the results of this study can draw attention of policy-makers, planners and natural resource managers to better understand the feedbacks between SEPLS and associated ecosystem services in terms of biodiversity conservation, food production and sustainable livelihood development in Lefke Region and elsewhere.

Assessment of the resilience of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes: A case study from Lefke Region of North Cyprus

The purpose of this study is to assess the resilience of socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS) of Lefke Region in North Cyprus in the face of disturbance factors (e.g. drought, urbanization and land abandonment) by adopting a set of indicators. The main objectives of the study include measurement of the respective resilience of the ecological, social and agricultural systems of the SEPLS by using relevant indicators. The method of the study consists of three parts: (i) conceptualization of the resilience of the SEPLS of Lefke Region to address the key systems (ecosystem, agricultural and social), their hierarchical structures, components and interrelations; (ii) development of a set of suitable resilience assessment indicators for these systems; (iii) for the development of resilience assessment indicators a participatory approach was designated to collect the relevant data. Accordingly, a multiple-choice questionnaire – consisting of 5 choices – was prepared and relevant data were collected from December 2015 to March 2016 in 12 villages through personal interviews with 106 respondents.The respondents have expressed their preferences by selecting the most suitable choice in 5 which were ordered from the lowest to the highest degree of resilience (1–5 point scale). The results of the evaluation revealed that the average values (importance) of the ecological, agricultural and social resilience are respectively 2,87 (low), 3,44 (moderate) and 2,53 (low) out of maximum 5-points. The overall resilience of the SEPLS was estimated to be low with a 2,94 magnitude. Finally, some conclusions (e.g. integrated landscape management) for strengthening the resilience of the SEPLS in Lefke Region in terms of biodiversity conservation, agricultural production and sustainable livelihood development were drawn based on the major findings of the study.It is expected that the findings and conclusions of this study can draw attention of policy makers and natural resource managers on building and strengthening the resilience of the SEPLS of Lefke Region in terms of biodiversity conservation, sustainable agricultural production and livelihood development.

Local community attitudes towards mangrove forest conservation: Lessons from Bangladesh

Degradation of mangrove ecosystems is a major concern in many countries of the world. This study examines the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards the conservation of the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans in Bangladesh. Village households were interviewed. The Schlager and Ostrom's theoretical framework was applied to reveal local forest-dependent people's positive attitudes towards conservation and that their socio-economic and demographic characteristics influenced these attitudes. They valued those functions that were directly linked to their economic wellbeing and were inclined to engage in alternative livelihood activities provided illegal access to forest resources were curtailed. Respondents living adjacent to the forests admitted their illegal access due to a lack of alternative economic opportunities. 60% of the respondents viewed that present state property rights regime violated their harvesting rights. More than half of the people (57%) surveyed desired to participate in conservation practices as proprietors. Policy directives in line with Schlager and Ostrom's theory for de facto and de jure ownerships and management change may provide some scope for development of sustainable livelihoods for forest dependent people from the conservation of critical mangrove ecosystems like the Sundarbans.

The Effects of Rural Tourism on Sustainable Livelihoods (Case Study: Lavij Rural, Iran)

Using a quantitative methodology and questionnaire, this study sought to evaluate the impacts of tourism on sustainable livelihoods of local people of Lavij rural in Iran. Data collected from 230 local residents of the study area were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation and linear regression. The results show that rural tourism has been able to play an effective role in sustainable livelihoods of people and there is a significant relationship between the development of rural tourism and sustainable livelihoods in Lavij. Rural tourism can predict a high percentage of changes in people’s livelihoods sustainability. Therefore, with a proper planning, rural tourism can be used to development of sustainable livelihoods, quality of people's lives, job opportunities and poverty reduction.

Farmers' Woodlots Management and Sustainable Livelihood Development: A Case Study in Southern Sri Lanka

A study was conducted on how a community forestry program improved livelihood development opportunities while addressing sustainable forest resource management. Data were collected through key informant survey, field survey, group discussions and field observation and analyzed to examine the contribution of a program in Nidahas Gama Sri Lanka using the livelihood framework method. The program improved human capital through skills development and training. The natural capital of the program was improved through development of farmers' woodlots (FWLs), home gardens and other agricultural land. Household welfare development, widening of the sources of energy for cooking and improvement of infrastructure were identified as main physical capital development of the program. The program increased household annual income, promoted household ability in self-financing forest and agricultural activities, and improved capabilities in formal banking transactions, under financial capital development. The main strategies used for developing social capital are: formation of groups and networks; trust and solidarity development; development of social cohesion, inclusion and empowerment; and information and communication improvement. Overall, the program has been highly successful in meeting the various livelihood development components.

Adult and Non-Formal Education: An Imperative for Human Capacity Development and Attainment of Sustainable Livelihoods in Anambra State

This study examined the imperatives of adult and non-formal education (ANFE) as a potent factor for human capacity development and attainment of sustainable livelihoods in Anambra State. For this purpose, the study sought to find out using three research questions formulated to investigate and examine the following: importance of ANFE for human capacity development and towards attaining sustainable livelihoods and (ANFE) programmes that boost socio-economic, culturaland political activities in Anambra State. The study being a survey research, adopted the descriptive survey design in order to collect data. A systematic random sampling procedure was employed in the study. 840 participants from various ANFE programmes within the six zonal areas in Anambra State were sampled from a total population of 46, 160 participants. A questionnaire titled: “Participants Responses on Imperatives of Adult and Non-Formal Education for Human Capacity Development and Sustainable Livelihoods Questionnaire”, (PRIANFEHCDSLQ) containing 26 items of two sections and drawn on a 2-point scale of yes and no options was used by the researchers to conduct the study and collect information from the respondents. Validity of the research instrument was carried out by two experts and reliability established using the split half which yielded a coefficient value of 0.83 using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Data was analyzed using frequency distribution and percentages. The results of the findings of the study revealed that adult and non-formal education is not only an imperative for human capacity development but also played a great role amongst the disadvantaged and marginalized groups in the society. From the findings of the study, recommendations were proffered and among such included: adequate funding and financing of adult and non-formal education (ANFE) for human capacity development which will aid citizens to achieve sustainable livelihoods not only in Anambra State but Nigeria as a whole.

Using Shoreline Video Assessment for coastal planning and restoration in the context of climate change in Kien Giang, Vietnam

Kien Giang, bordering Cambodia in the Mekong River Delta, is one of the two most vulnerable provinces in the region to coastal erosion and flooding. Coastal protection can conflict with current land use and economic development activities. The conditions of the mangrove forest and mainland coastline of the Kien Giang province were assessed using the Shoreline Video Assessment Method (SVAM) backed up with information from satellite images. Half of the 206 km Kien Giang coastline has been eroded or is being eroded. Protective mangrove forests naturally occurred in 74% of the coastline but have been under threat from illegal cutting, erosion and coastal retreat. Accurate information on the state of the coastline and mangrove forest health provided invaluable data for developing a new coastal rehabilitation plan to guard against future sea level rise. In contrast to the current boundary management of land and natural resources, this plan divided the provincial coastline into 19 sections based on the landscape condition and exposure to erosion. Priority strategic actions for erosion management, mangrove restoration and sustainable livelihood development for local communities for each section of coast were developed based on an integrated cross sectoral approach and practical experience in the Conservation and Development of the Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve Project.

Woodfuel plantation projects in Kinshasa province: potential contribution to the alleviation of pressure on natural forests

SUMMARY This paper examines whether medium-scale woodfuel plantations based on an agroforestry model can alleviate pressure on natural forests through the development of more sustainable livelihoods, on the basis of a case study of plantation projects in Kinshasa province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Research results support the hypothesis that these plantation projects promote a set of conditions that play a role in deterring households from making charcoal from natural forests. A series of interconnected factors observed in woodfuel plantations create a favourable environment for the development of alternative, more successful livelihoods that are less dependent on the unsustainable exploitation of forest resources. Positive effects are first observed within plantation boundaries; they can also spill over into neighbouring areas. However, positive impacts are more likely to occur, and on a larger scale, if proactive measures in favour of rural development in general are implemented simultaneously.