The University for the Region >> CASE STUDY 46

The Learning Sustainability Project

a. Origin of the project

In the final session of the European Intergovernmental Consultation on Sustainable Mountain Development in the City of Trento, in October 1996, representatives of 20 European Governments approved a Document with recommendations on Sustainable Mountain Development strategies. This important Document includes several action-oriented recommendations to promote the exchange of experiences between mountain communities and the training of decision-makers and managers working in and related to mountain contexts. One recommendation concerned the idea of creating a Centre to exchange experience on sustainable mountain development in the Trentino region. As co-organiser of the Consultation process, and on the basis of its experience in two PACTE and ECOS-Ouverture inter-regional cooperation projects, ICALPE (the International Centre for Alpine Environments) suggested to the Autonomous Province of Trento the development of an inter-regional cooperation project with other rural areas of Europe facing similar marginal conditions, problems, and concerns (especially in the Mediterranean and Scandinavian areas). Following ICALPE’s suggestion, the Autonomous Province of Trento invited the region of Alentejo, Portugal, for the Mediterranean context, and the region of Lapland, Finland, for the Scandinavian context, to build jointly a project to promote sustainable development through transnational cooperation. The Project, ’Learning Sustainability’ was submitted and approved under a European initiative, the RECITE II programme.

b. Objectives

The overall objective of the Learning Sustainability project was to contribute to the promotion of sustainable development strategies in marginal rural regions of Europe through exchange of experiences and practices among the cooperating regions. More concretely, the project intended to contribute to the development of tools for promoting sustainable development in marginal rural areas of Europe through interregional cooperation among three marginal areas: (1) mountainous context (Trentino, Italy), (2) cold lands context (Lapland, Finland) and (3) Mediterranean context (Alentejo, Portugal). For this purpose, the project has been organised into three main areas (vertical themes), namely sustainable tourism (Area 1), quality management (Area 2), and environmental management of rangelands (Area 3). Two other areas (transversal themes) have also been addressed across the three main areas, namely cooperation (Area 4) and relationships between cities and rural areas (Area 5).

The general objective for Tourism was to improve partners’ capacity to develop methods, references and guidelines for new forms of tourism, based on local natural, historical and cultural resources. Concerning Quality, the general objective was to develop the capacity of rural SMEs and local communities to apply a Total Quality Management system to their organisational systems, processes and products. In relation to Grazing, the general objective was to improve the regions’ capacity to develop and practise multi-purpose management of rangelands in a participatory way. The general objective for the Cooperation Area was to improve and disseminate Trentino’s relevant experience in cooperation strategies for promoting sustainable development. Concerning the Cities and Rural Areas, the objective was to improve and test existing cooperation strategies between cities and their rural surroundings as a tool for promoting sustainable development in small cities in the marginal rural areas of Europe.

c. The partnership and project management

The Learning Sustainability project has been carried out by a transnational partnership composed by three regional partnerships (Alentejo in Portugal, Lapland in Finland, Trentino in Italy). The regional partnerships are composed of public and private entities, 19 in all. The leading partner for the transnational partnership is the Autonomous Province of Trento, Italy. In addition, each regional partnership is lead by a principal partner. For the Alentejo region, the principal partner is the University of Évora (Department of Sociology); for Lapland, the principal partner is the University of Lapland (Continuing Education Centre); and, for Trentino, the principal partner is the Autonomous Province of Trento (Centro de Ecologia Alpina).

The project management has been carried out by each partner at two main levels. Firstly, we have one transnational steering committee with representatives from the partner countries. The steering committee's task is to decide guidelines for national partners dealing with rural area issues.

Secondly, there is a regional steering committee in each partner country composed by the main local actors and entities. In the meetings of the regional steering committees plans and reports were prepared for the transnational steering committee. In addition, the regional steering committees have discussed and evaluated action plans implemented in the frame of identified problems and challenges.

The project manager’s role and work has been essential to coordinate project activities and maintain the on-going project. The project manager’s role requires diverse qualifications including language skills, understanding of foreign cultures, expertise in European project management, flexibility in the ’project world’ and an open mood for the ’end users’, i.e. in this case rural villagers.

Conducting a transnational project like the Learning Sustainability project always involves risks and unexpected things. For instance, difficulties in following the European Commission’s rules, additional challenges and difficulties when the project team or project manager changes during the project cycle, the short time for meetings, and other things. So, in addition to learning about Sustainable Development, the Learning Sustainability project (1998-2002) has given the opportunity to learn about conducting and managing transnational cooperation projects and tackling and solving all of those difficulties.

d. Interregional cooperation

The project work programme is structured into five areas of activities, each corresponding to a major issue for sustainable development in European marginal rural areas. Those areas of activities are: Area 1, tourism; Area 2, quality management; Area 3, environmental management of rangelands; Area 4, cooperation; and Area 5, relationships between cities and rural areas.

Each regional partnership has been responsible for organising an exchange of experience session and for conducting a demonstration action (pilot-project) in each area of activities. The objectives and themes of exchange sessions and demonstration actions carried out in each main area of activities are adapted to the specific regional context and needs of each region. In addition, the partners of a regional partnership are also involved in the corresponding area of activities of the two other regions in exchange sessions and in demonstration actions as well. Furthermore, one regional partner coordinates, across the three European regions, a main area of activities. Alentejo’s partnership (The Tourism Office of Évora) is coordinating transnationally the Tourism Area; Lapland’s partnership is leading the Quality and the Rangeland areas of activities; and Trentino’s partnership is coordinating the areas of activities for Cooperation and Cities and Rural Areas.

The project partnership intends to further develop the results from the Learning Sustainability project by creating a multi-polar centre for cooperation between regional and local authorities on sustainable development of less favoured areas in Europe.

e. Examples of actions carried out

In Lapland, the project started with the selection of six pilot-villages, after a call inviting participation was widely published in the regional media. Only every second village could join the project. The counterparts of the project in the villages are both the municipality and the village committee, a local association of villagers. All six villages have been visited several times. A report has been prepared on the weaknesses, strengths and ideas in each village, and comparative analyses have been made. This provides the background documentation to prepare a local development strategy for each village. In addition, particular projects have been discussed with some villages; and some of the projects based on local nature and culture have been started. For all villages the project is providing multimedia facilities with the perspective to network the six villages for information and training.

In Trentino, there has been a series of meetings with local people. In the BIM Brenta area the objective is to develop a route of ’imagination’ based on local traditions and legends. A first survey of original local literature has been made, and contacts made with a number of local associations. The objectives are to develop different routes for culture tourism, through a participatory approach with municipalities, local people, associations and institutions.

In Alentejo, nature tourism strategy has been developed based on a previous feasibility study. Alentejo’s potential interest in a future network of tourism villages was evaluated through a first sample of three local communities. Local stakeholders (including representatives of commercial, lodging and restaurant establishments, associations for local development, entrepreneurs, local authorities and other entities) attended, with strong interest, most of the information meetings that were organised for that purpose. The network of tourism villages has been successfully organised and launched.

In Lapland, a major result is the involvement of villagers, through the village committees, in each of the six selected pilot-villages. For the more active villages, the project has accompanied the first steps of very concrete pilot-projects, such as the ’Telatie’ footpath on the swamp environment around Kurtakko, or the local traditional dress project developed by a tourism family company at Korvala in connection with a network of local enterprises. Both projects are first exemplary achievements of the main project's initial objectives in this area of Lapland, which are to help the locality to find their own village development systems based on local nature and culture resources, and in particular, the rediscovery of the Finnish Laplanders’ heritage.

For the more passive villages, the project has helped to identify the conditions and opportunities for development and design training through consultation sessions based on the very specific needs of each village, most dealing with cooperation. In all villages the village committee is responsible for the management of multimedia facilities provided by the project, which are located either in the village shop or school for open access to all villagers. Some villages have started to create their own website, and a central website with links to the villages’ sites is under consideration as a main tool to start networking the villages. Another important result is the commitment of the six municipalities in Lapland, including a financial commitment up to 2,500 Euro each. In addition two of them have facilitated the employment of two local people in the village committees to work for the project.