Based on the research conducted within the SHERPA project (“Sustainable Hub to Engage into Rural Policies with Actors; Horizon 2020 project, grant number 862448) Barbara Wieliczko together with Agnieszka Kurdyś-Kujawska and Zbigniew Floriańczyk wrote a scintific article in which they presented their study in the capacity of the EU rural policy to facilitate a just sustainability transition of the EU rural areas.

The article refers to SHERPA studies on vision of rural areas summerized in the SHERPA Position Paper LONG-TERM VISION FOR RURAL AREAS. Contribution from SHERPA science-society-policy platforms.

The article has been published in an open access scientific journal „Energies” in its Special Issue Public Policies for Rural Development: Circular Deals, Digital Revolution, and Inclusive Engagement”

Article’s abstract: The sustainability transition of rural areas is a must due to rapid climate changes and biodiversity loss. Given the limited resources of rural communities, policy should facilitate a just sustainability transition of the EU rural areas. The analysis of EU development policies, past performance and the envisaged scope of reform, presented in this study point to a serious inconsistency between the declaration and implementation of relevant policies. Namely, the marginal role rural areas perform in common agricultural policy and cohesion policy; a result of the lack of a complex approach to rural development. The analysis was based on the concept of good governance and took a multi-level perspective. It advocates territorial justice as an approach that should be at the core of creating a comprehensive policy for rural areas in the EU, including their diversity and empowering local communities to choose the transition pathway that is most in line with their current situation and development capacity. This analysis fills a gap in research on the evolution of the rural development policy in the EU. This research can inform the reprioritization and intensification of efforts to create equitable policies for EU rural development.

 

Link to the article: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/16/5050