ESPON TeDi
Territorial Diversity in the European and national perspective
Suceava 21st of July 2010Senior Adviser Odd Godal
Erik Gløersen
The project rationale
• The Territorial Agenda stressed that policy orientations and actions should contribute towards overall policy goals like Gothenburg and Lisbon strategy.
• All types of regions through out Europe contribute towards common goals like sustainable growth, employment etc
• But challenges and opportunities differ from region to region
• In order to contribute to overall goals regions need to develop strategies based on their comparative advantages
Erik Gløersen
Thematic scope for the targeted analysis
• It is often assumed that only metropolitan areas and major urban areas can significantly contribute towards overall policy goals
• A comprehensive territorial cohesion policy should not only take account of territorial cohesion but also take account of territorial diversity
• In this respect there is a need to develop differentiated regional and spatial policies which fit the potentials present in the individual region or areas
• Questions we would like to see addressed where how to ensure a sustainable development based on regional comparative advantages, improve the foundation of development and develop actions that enable the targeted regions
Erik Gløersen
Stakeholders
• Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Norway (Lead Stakeholder)
• Ministry for Regional Development and Tourism Romania• Ministry of Employment and Economy, Finland • Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE,
Switzerland • Department of Town Planning and Housing, Ministry of
the Interior, Cyprus • National Rural Development Agency, Sweden • Malta Environment & Planning, Malta
Erik Gløersen
The ESPON TeDi project team
- Island Consulting Services, Malta- University of Akureyri, Iceland
Erik Gløersen
Demographic trends
Erik Gløersen
Economic activities
• Diversity of situations• Diversity of situations• Diversity of situations
Relative importance of
-Agriculture
-Services
-Manufacturing
Diversity of situations
Erik Gløersen
Ensuring a sustainable development based on regional comparative advantages
- The assets are generally well identified
- However, the analysis of exploitation of regional comparative advantages are generally insufficent. One way of approaching this is a systematic approch based on three key factors:- Local natrual resources- Human capital- Institutional context/governance
- Territorial approach can make this easier to handle
However territories should not be considered in isolation
Erik Gløersen
Inputs to European policy debates
Conceptual clarifications needed:
(1) Level of performance ≠ Structural obstacles to growth
More than average scores ≠ good scores Geographically specific area ≠ Lagging area
(2) Economic importance ≠ Economic weight
(3) Balanced, harmonious and sustainable development requires more than economic growth
geographic specificities may help identifying contradictions and mutually beneficial effects of different types of policies
Erik Gløersen
Inputs to European policy debates
Dealing with geographic specificities is often about creating new types of connections between areas
- Within regions- Across regional and national boundaries
Compensating for imbalances in flows Creating alliances through which actors can strengthen
the robustness and resilience of their local communities Gaining greater weight in economic and political
systems dominated by main urban areas
At the European scale, a change of focus of territorial policies, incorporating the sub-regional scale is required to encourage and accompany these processes.
The focus should be on potentials rather than on relative performance
Erik Gløersen
Suceava – Development opportunities and challenges
Development opportunities
• Extensive natural and cultural heritage to capitalise on• Further economic potential based on products from agriculture, forestry• Well developed, efficient rural school system• Existence of LEADER-like networks of rural stakeholders• Potential European interface to Ukraine and Moldova
Main challenges
• Need for improvement to the transport infrastructure especially rural secondary roads
• Many small agricultural households• Difficult conversion from subsistence farming to commercial farming• Obsolete agricultural production facilites• Unstable legal and fiscal environment
Erik Gløersen
Alba - Development opportunities and challenges
Development opportunities
• High quality agricultural production in small mountain communities• Local handicraft production• Development of agro-turism• Develop the potential of some mountain areas as winter and summer
tourism destinations• Existence of LEADER-like networks of rural stakeholders
Main challenges• Improving access to basic services especially in rural areas• Difficult conversion process in mono-industrial towns with high
unemployment• Limited external investment• Environmental issues linked to waste management and pollution in the
Apunesi Mountains