New Prosperity for Rural Regions

The project deals with problems of marginal rural regions in the period of transformation in Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The course of the transformation, its impact, related border problems and environmental aspects were studied in seven model regions of the two countries, using geographical, cartographic, sociological, historical and remote-sensing methods. The opinions of both the local populations and the local authorities were also taken into account. The most important problems observed included the deepening of marginality, the worsening situation in the labour market, structural demographic degradation of the most marginal settlements and a lack of development programmes. In the Czech Republic the state had no effective regional policy up to the time of the research. Possibilities for future prosperity include exploitation of human and other local resources, the elaboration of local and regional programmes capable of gaining financial support and the utilisation of tranquility and the positive environmental situation. It is the local people who usually represent the main wealth of marginal regions and care for them is the task of the local authorities.