OECD Rural Development Annual Conference 2009, Quebec, Canada

DEVELOPING RURAL POLICIES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF A CHANGING WORLD Session VII: Climate Change: Policy Implications In Rural Areas

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN BORNHOLM, DENMARK Pushing an Innovative Policy Agenda without a Regional Policy Framework

Dr Peter Billing Centre for Regional and Tourism Research Bornholm, Denmark

REGIONAL CONTEXT

BORNHOLM, DENMARK

SWEDEN

DENMARK The Baltic Sea Copenhagen

BORNHOLM

GERMANY

POLAND

37 km to Sweden 180 km to Copenhagen 588 km2 area 42.800 inhabitants 77 inhabitants per km2

GOVERNANCE CONTEXT National Administrative Restructuring 2007 5 Regions (14) 97 Municipalities (271) 1 Regional Municipality (Bornholm, since 2005) Bornholm responsibilities • • • • • • •

Regional Development plan Regional Growth Forum Social institutions Public transport (busses) Contact authority relating to health Education Basic health care

POLICY CONTEXT

No national active regional policy Danish rural development program Agricultural transition • Innovation & SMEs • Human resources EU Regional Policy • Bornholm dDefined as a peripheral area • Access to Regional Funds and Social Funds

EMERGENT CHALLENGES •

Erosion of traditional economic base in fishing and agriculture

•

No. employed in the primary sector twice country average

•

Unemployment twice country average

•

Tax base 80% of country average

•

Half of the unemployed only have elementary school education

•

Only ten percent of the employed have higher education

•

No HEI on Bornholm

•

Population decline

... AND GROWING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN – GLOBAL ISSUE!

“Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting over”

Mark Twain

BALTIC SEA REGION 9 countries 85 million people

15 million 10 km from the coast Shared cultural heritage EU Enlargment 2004

One of the most polluted waters in the world

Phytoplankton bloom, summer 2001

One of the most trafficked waters in the world

The ”Fun Shan Hai” incident Bornholm 2003

Necessitates trans-national inter-regional co-operation B7 - Baltic 7 Islands Network (1989)

B7 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

Contribute to a sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region Specific island issues - Enviornment - Transportation - Population INDIRECT RECOURCES Coordination of EU Regional Funding 1. Structural Funds (eg. Bornholm 50 mill. USD 2007-2013) - Regional Fund - Social Fund 2. Interregional Fund ACTIONS Policy-making EU Strategy for Baltic Sea Region (2006) Maritime Policy for Europe (2007) Project cooperation - Best practice exchange: The Transplan Project

BORNHOLM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Focus on 1. Growth drivers: • Human recources – education and competences • Innovation, knowledge sharing and development • Utilisation of new technology • Entrepreneurship 2. Cross-sectorial growth areas: • Bornholm – Open All Year • Rural development • Bornholm in a global perspective

… and BRIGHT GREEN ISLAND STRATEGY – Bornholm 2014 - Attitudes - Concrete actions

MANEOUVERING IN A TERRITORY OF PARDOXES

Rural areas – historic dependency of natural recources and assets From industrial production to visual and re-creative consumtion Resources that can’t be outsourced – place dependent Increased attraction of rural areas – visiting, second homes and permanent residency

... and travelling is increasing at exponential speed!

TRENDS & DEVELOPMENT IN TOURISM In 2006: 10,3% of world GDP and 8,2 % of total world employment

• 2005: 800 mill. international arrivals – 2020: 1.6 billion international arrivals • 75% of future growth will be outside Europe & US

Tourism in Europe is increasingly intra-regional – 88% in 2004

THE CHALLENGE OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (GEC) FOR RURAL AREAS • • • • • •

Climate change (temperature increase) Land alteration (Sea level raise) Loss of non-renewable resources Unsustainable use of renewable resources Gross reduction in biodiversity Water availability

Examples of travelling contributions to GEC Air transport

• Industry forecast (2003) that in 2022 the number of aircrafts and number of seats will have doubled. • CO2 emissions – only about 3-4% of all CO2, but CO2 entering the upper troposphere and the lower stratosphere is 2-3 times as damaging as CO2 produced at ground level. • Medium and Long-haul trips and the concept of environmental backpack

Examples of travelling contributions to GEC (continued)

Water availability • Increasing demand and competition for fresh water (industry, agriculture, domestic) – water conflicts. • Holidaymakers in Spain use 880 lit. of water per day on average if they stay in a hotel with a golf course and a swimming pool – this is twice as much as other tourists, and four times as much as residents. CONSEQUENCES

• Disappearing rural communities • Reduced snow fall in the Alps • The ultimate paradox - “Clima Tourism” • Greenland • Touring the melting polar ice • Watching the polar bear go brown

GEC and sustainability are pertinent issues for rural areas, but we need to recognise that they also have sustainability advantages and benefits from their place particularities: • Attractive landscapes – coastlines, beaches, waterfronts, shores • Environmentally clean

• Non-industrial economies – less pollution • Restricted accessibility – price of getting there, high-end demand, exclusive • Strong history and cultural heritage (UNESCO World Heritage list) • Brand – rural areas are well known destinations • Isolation – those who are there are there for a reason • Strong identity – independency, self-reliance • Islandness Recognise that sustainable rural development is about environmental, socio-economic and cultural aspects

HOW TO PURSUE A GEC DRIVEN RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND POLICY AGENDA? Broaden the perspective Local, regional and global Holistic and comprehesive approach Engage in collaboration with actors at all levels of the tourism system Support the tourism related secrtors focus on environment and responsibility Certification of individual hotels with the ISO 14001 environmental standard, but even a whole town – Adeje on Tenerife, Spain. Initiate and invest in innovative measures In 2004 an 18-hole golf course on Crete opened which is fed with wastewater. Develop test sites for alternative energy

Develop GEC framed visions for future rural development

A FRAMEWORK FOR AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO GEC-DRIVEN SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICY

Pan-European

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Climate change Water supply and management Waste management Visul pollution

National

Planning

ECONOMIC

SOCIO-CULTURAL

SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY

Economic growth and diversification

Cultural heritage

Employment

Local traditions

Skills and wages

Crime and security

Costs of living

Regional

RESEARCH

GOOD PRACTICE

The Triple Helix Model and beyond

POLITICS

Social entrepreneurs and innovation

The Creative Amateur

(Leif Edvinsson)

QUAD HELIX

BUSINESS

NGOs - Local Action Group - Gourmet Bornholm - Arts and crafts association of Bornholm (ACAB)

ACADEMIA

PENTA HELIX Voluntary Engagement Passion

Peter Billing +4556440022 [email protected]

www.crt.dk