Analysis of the Potential of Sustainable Development in the Rural Communities
Ion IONESCU*1
* Corresponding author
1 “Al. I. Cuza” University, Faculty of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Iași, ROMANIA
E-mail: ion@uaic.ro
Pages: 125-143. URL: https://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva_si3_2014/17JSSPSI032014.pdf
Cite: Ionescu I. (2014), Analysis of the Potential of Sustainable Development in the Rural Communities. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, Special Issue 3, 125-143. URL: https://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva_si3_2014/17JSSPSI032014.pdf
Abstract. There is plenty of news about Romanian villages which fade away and about the numerous austerity plans that have been imposed to the population. People’s welfare, the prosperity of the communities cannot be assured by speculative practices, lack of work, irresponsible consumption of natural resources, and continuous creation of political, economical, social, ecological problems. The persistent crisis leads to the depopulation of the villages, to the aging of the population, the migration of the young population from villages and decreasing of living standards of those who remain there. Today the information is more accessible regarding the impact of the actual agro alimentary system (the pollution connected to the transportation of alimentary products on long distances, food waste, the reduction of agricultural biodiversity, the use of pesticides, of hormone growth, the excessive exploitation of nonrenewable resources, the growth of the consumption of products coming from organisms genetically modified) and the conclusion that such a system is unsustainable. The world forum of alimentation launched in 1996 the ideas of alimentary sovereignty (the states should firstly feed their population, using their own resources equitably and just) which is not attained only by food supply. The reduction of development differences and poverty remains a major problem from ecological reasons and survival of population. The undeveloped rural communities are obliged to affirm their identity, to become more aware of themselves, to value what is specific for them, to integrate in larger spaces, in networks, to renew their vision, to build their visibility to the mass-media, etc., all these in the circumstances where their young people are leaving, remaining only the old people, and others who don’t return from the city or from abroad. The construction of their economical, social and environmental competitiveness is important (in communication there are given numerous examples of strategies used by the European rural communities). The possible effect of the associations is analyzed as well, of NGO that intervene in villages (based on a self research in 2011, in 25 villages from a county in Moldova). The migrants can be an important resource for the present and the future of rural communities from Romania. Some characteristics of Romanians’ migration are identified (shown with examples from the database of a project financed by Swiss National Science Switzerland and The Executive Unit for Financing of Higher Education of Research, Development and Innovation Romania). By another self research they have searched to identify the potential development of rural communities through biological farming (some results and conclusions are presented). A consistent part of communication is dedicated to the biological agriculture and its forms: permaculture, the biodynamic agriculture etc. There are identified advantages of sustainable agriculture in villages, insisting on the proximity economy, the sustained agriculture by the community (the basket with bio products). All these can diminish the development gaps and create premises of sustainable development of villages. For this the involvement of specialists is necessary in community development, but education and producers’ and consumers’ training regarding the development of the biological agriculture (examples of policies, practices and actors of education and formation are given in view of sustainable development of rural communities).
K e y w o r d s: agroalimentary system, alimentary sovereignty, building the competitiveness of villages, association, migration, biological agriculture, education and formation in view of biological agriculture development