ELER-Entwicklungsprogramm Umweltmaßnahmen, Ländliche Entwicklung, Landwirtschaft, Ernährung (EPLR EULLE) Rheinland-Pfalz (Schwerpunkt LEADER)

Border Region

Rhénanie-Palatinat

Language(s)

Allemand

Type

Portrait of a research project

Main Category

Regional Development – Sustainability

Governance – Power – Cooperation

Introduction

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the ELER development programme for environmental measures, rural development, agriculture, nutrition (EPLR EULLE) stipulates how the second pillar of the general agricultural policy (GAP) is to be implemented in the Rhineland-Palatinate.

Summary

The LEADER subsidy measure is characterised by a "bottom-up approach", i.e. the people on site decide about the local integrated rural development strategy (LILE) for their region within the LEADER action group (LAG). They choose the projects to be subsidised based on transparent and objective selection criteria. To make rural spaces in Rhineland-Palatinate future-capable, the funding period of 2014 to 2020 has sustainable projects and processes at the focus of promotion in twenty selected LEADER regions. Beyond this, the innovation and economic power in the regions, intermunicipal cooperation, tourism and nature protection are to be strengthened. The goal is achieving a sustainable structural further development of the LEADER regions by developing and trying out answers to urgent challenges of our time. This includes, in particular, demographic change, countering climate change, preservation and creation of jobs, environmental and resource protection.

LEADER permits participation of rural spaces and their populations in the subsidy backdrop of the EU, thereby also contributing to letting the EU goals reach rural spaces and enabling them to contribute to the Europe 2020 strategy, while also increasing acceptance and citizen proximity of the EU.

Content

The EPLR EULLE's action focus 3 "Promotion of the development of rural space" contains the framework conditions for LEADER that are the focus of this analysis. This action focus is not centred on agricultural or forestry development measures, but on regional development of rural spaces as a whole. Thus, it is targeted at the design of living and working conditions in the rural area.

The action focus concerning LEADER contains the :

principles of acceptance of local action groups (LAG) (spatial prerequisites and conditions concerning composition and organisation of the LAG)
as preparatory support for the LEADER approach (promotion of external compilation of the local integrated rural development strategy (Lokale Integrierte Ländliche Entwicklungsstrategie; LILE)
Implementation of the LILE (promotion of implementation of projects in the scope of LILE)
Area-comprehensive, international and transnational cooperation
Promotion of LEADER management and raising of awareness (promotion of the costs connected to administration of execution of the LEADER development strategy and raising of awareness)
as measures.

Following a call of the ministry of economy, traffic, agriculture and viticulture of the state of Rhineland Palatinate (Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz), a total of 20 local action groups (associations of regional authority in the rural area of Rhineland-Palatinate) applied with a developed local integrated rural development strategy each, developed in a participative procedure with the actors from the civil society.
The process organisation and content development of the LILE are eligible for promotion, as is implementation of the action focuses and measures from LILE. Support is provided for projects selected by the LAG that are in harmony with the goals of EPLR EULLE and the goals and fields of action of the respective LILE. This specifically includes

Small investment measures,
Compilation of innovative concepts and studies,
Further education events, trainings, qualifications and further educations,
Execution of smaller model projects.

In addition to compilation and implementation of the LILE, a regional management provision can be subsidised for quality assurance and capacity development, in order to ensure ongoing operation of the LAG (personnel, training, finance and network costs, studies, ...) and administration of implementation of the LILE and costs in connection with public relations.
Additionally, the EPLR EULLE Rhineland-Palatinate also intends an area-comprehensive, country-comprehensive and transnational cooperation with other LEADER regions for promotion. Subsidies are eligible for preparation or initiation of cooperation projects. This includes both contact and mutual information, and the specific exchange of programme and project-specific experience between the LAGs, preparation and execution of shared projects. Travelling expenses for visiting partner products and costs for interpreters and translation of information materials can also be subsidised in this context. Since nearly all regional authorities in Rhineland-Palatinate along the German-French, German-Luxembourgian and German-Belgian borders are parts of various LEADER regions, this subsidy option in the greater region forms the basis for transnational exchange and implementation of smaller projects in the rurally characterised partial spaces of the greater region.

Conclusions

Most people in Rhineland-Palatinate and the greater region live in and work in the rural area. Leader enables actors in rural areas to try out new paths in order to become or remain competitive, in order to make the best of their endogenous potentials and to master challenges that they are often facing, such as aging of the population, a scant service offer or lack of employment opportunities.

The bottom-up approach is an essential feature of LEADER. Local actors from the population, economic and social groups of interest and representative public and private institutions are actively involved in development and implementation of a developmental strategy, and in selection of the projects, thereby ensuring high transparency, acceptance and identification with the projects subsidised with EU funds.

At the same time, the European subsidies from the ELER help in testing and enabling innovations in the LEADER regions, developing and expanding personnel capacities. Access to other EU funds of cohesion policy can be enabled as well.

Key Messages

Many citizens live and work in rural areas in Europe. LEADER regions subsidies can drive stabilisation of rural areas with support by EU funds from the ELER to contribute to economic, social and territorial coherence.
The bottom-up approach in this promotional area will enable direct participation in EU subsidies for the population in rural spaces.

The promotion of transnational cooperation potions in rurally characterised border regions or parts of the greater region that is possible in the scope of LEADER in Rhineland-Palatinate is a good way to achieve stronger networking and to initiate shared projects.

Lead

Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Verkehr, Landwirtschaft und Weinbau

Author of the entry

Beate

CAESAR

Contributions

20 local action groups in the current funding period have applied for LEADER subsidies in Rhineland-Palatinate and were selected: