fragile rural area

seriously depressed rural area

ecologically sensitive area

Environmentally Sensitive Area | ESA [Abbr.]

rural region [ rural area | rural zone ]

environmentally fragile area

rural water supply

Expert Group Meeting on the Development and Utilization of Local Manpower and Technology for Disability-related Services in Rural and Poverty Areas of the Asia-Pacific region

rural and urban poor

L. whereas territorial excellence brandings can contribute to the resilience and development of territorial economies, particularly in the most vulnerable regions, mountain regions and the outermost regions, by coordinating sets of high-quality goods (food and non-food) and services which are inextricably interlinked and which embody the specific characteristics of each territory and in particular its heritage (historical, cultural, geographical, etc); whereas assembled together within sets these goods and services are unique and generate revenue at territorial level opening up new opportunities on local and international markets and may also act as an ‘umbrella’ for promoting regions as tourist destinations; whereas the aim of these ter ...[+++]ritorial brandings is to identify those territories that have worked together to create common partnerships and synergies in order to exploit their resources in the long term, encourage local/regional producers and stimulate their economies, which is vital to quality of life in the countryside and a balanced development of rural and urban areas; whereas they should not be confused with the quality labels (protected designation of origin (PDO), protected geographical indication (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)) used for food products, with which far from being incompatible they are on the contrary fully complementary; whereas they should contribute to the promotion of these schemes both within and outside the EU and help to improve the competitiveness of rural economies whilst at the same time opening up employment opportunities;

If we do not act, we will run the risk of seeing the European dairy sector suffer lasting damage, thus depriving our fragile rural areas of the hub of their economies.

After a decade of mere income stagnation, agricultural income dropped substantially in 2009 adding to an already fragile situation of an agricultural income significantly lower (by an estimated 40% per working unit) than that in the rest of the economy, and income per inhabitant in rural areas is considerably lower (by about 50%) than in urban areas.

2. Calls for emergency aid for European forests in Objective 2 sensitive rural areas with a view to preventing short-term damage as a result of the storm (rotting and development of parasites in the wood, rendering it unfit for commercial purposes) and, in the medium term, to promoting more sustainable use of European forests; points out that the Member States are the main players in the implementation of forestry policy;