Down to Earth - Tackling depopulation challenges to improve environmental resilience in rural areas

ongoing

Climate change and rural resilience: we take action! Climate change knows no borders. It presents a common challenge for all European regions, posing severe threats in the form of natural disasters such as wildfires and landslides. These events have not only increased in frequency but also intensified in their devastating impact. Among the most vulnerable are rural areas and communities that have already been affected by depopulation and land abandonment. It is within this context that Down to Earth, a collaborative interregional initiative, aims to make a difference. The overarching objective of our partnership is to optimize the utilization of available tools and resources, including Cohesion Policy funds, within the participating regions. By doing so, we aspire to promote sustainable development and increase the disaster risk resilience of rural communities across Europe. Who are we? Down to Earth brings together a group of organizations from diverse European regions, each contributing their expertise in disaster risk reduction and rural development. Collectively, we firmly believe that retaining population and encouraging sustainable practices in key sectors are paramount to halting environmental deterioration and effectively mitigating risks. Comprised of eight dedicated partners, we are collectively led by the Axencia Galega de Desenvolvemento Rural (AGADER): Fundación Juana de Vega. Municipality of Campobasso. MeteoRomania. Regionalverband Neckar-Alb. University of Patras. BSC Kranj, Regional Development Agency of Gorenjska. ISOCARP Institute / Centre for Urban Excellence. What will we do? Our partnership will work in unison to identify and promote win-win solutions. Our primary focus lies in managing, maintaining, and enhancing practices, tools, instruments and strategies to reduce the risk and impact of environmental disasters. In doing so, we seek to create economic and social opportunities that will attract populations to rural areas. Over the four years of our project we will address the following themes during the core phase: Year 1: Environmental risks related with depopulation and ageing population in rural areas. Year 2: Access barriers to young farmers in depopulated areas. Year 3: Policy instruments to foster the role of farmers and land managers in fighting climate change and environmental risks. The fourth year will be dedicated to ensuring the knowledge developed is used to improve the use of available tools and resources in the partner regions. Central to our approach is mutual learning through interregional exchange of experiences. By facilitating knowledge sharing among regional and local authorities, as well as relevant stakeholders from participating rural areas, we can enhance their capacity to address the challenges linked with climate change and sustainable rural development!

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