Sustainable rural development

Rosanna Salvia (), Giovanni Quaranta (), Marco Maialetti () and Luca Salvati ()

Chapter 2 in Rural Sustainability and Competitiveness, 2025, pp 14-31 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Economic development in the last decades has turned towards a dominant notion of ‘environmental sustainability’, and there is frequent reference to the operational concept of ‘sustainable development’. ‘Sustainable’ is an attribute of a given development path that, in some way, derives from a broader perspective in the mainstream of ‘man's return to nature’. An intense reflection on the state of the environment began in advanced economies in the early 1970s. In 1972, the Club of Rome issued a report entitled ‘The Limits to Growth’, which referred to the state of the planet's ecosystems. Unceasing population growth and intensive exploitation of land resources, together with industrial pollution, have resulted in a burden on natural environments and a gradual depletion of soil resources. As a result of such processes, foundations have been laid for the development of a strategic approach to the integral conservation of natural environments. The United Nations (UN) Conference on Human Environments contributed significantly to the evolution of operational concepts of ‘sustainable development’, providing clear indications that the dominant form of economic growth in both advanced and emerging countries would have to change. Starting from these preliminary aspects, this chapter briefly reviews more general objectives of rural development, such as the maintenance of basic ecological processes, the preservation of genetic diversity, and land resources. Finally, a broader perspective, oriented towards a truly sustainable (i.e., socially cohesive, economically durable and territorially stable) ‘development path’ for rural districts, is discussed.

Keywords: Sustainability; Environmental policy; History; Planning; Europe (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035357710
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