Re­connecting socioeconomic and environmental conditions in rural Greece: Using the Peloponnese as a case study
Erasmia Kastanidi
Apostolos G Papadopoulos
Christos Chalkias
Harokopio University Athens, Greece
Aims and Objectives
• Identification of convergence/divergence between socio‐economic and natural features in specified base units using GIS as an analytical tool
• Second hand data that reflect the natural and socioeconomic conditions of the MDs, were collected for the purpose of creating composite indicators • so that they could be later used to create a methodology that would evaluate the countryside according to a holistic view of development.
Base Units
• Each base unit had to be described according to spatial and natural characteristics, demographic trends and employment opportunities
• The combination of characteristics created the issue of whether to use administrative or physical boundaries as base units
• The municipality departments have: – Clearly defined spatial boundaries
– Abundance of socioeconomic information – Administrative units but their boundaries have often been delineated using physical characteristics
Criteria
• The data that were used for this study could be divided into two major categories, those that were of a statistical nature and those that were of a geographic nature.
• The basic concept on which all the parameters are organised is based on the principles of privileged and deprived communities which refers to the existence (or absence) of positive features. • The criteria used here do not include all the factors that are connected to favorable conditions but they do offer an insight into a different view of the countryside through the available socioeconomic and spatial data. Synthetic Criteria
• 3 synthetic criteria based on the elaboration of specific indicators when dealing with the socioeconomic and environmental conditions of an area
• Natural environment
– CORINE2000 Land Cover Data
– Protected Area Designation
• Demographic
– Permanent population from 2001 Census
– Rate of population change (1991 ‐ 2001) – Ageing rate
• Economic
– Percentage of the economically active population
– Percentage of Unemployment
– Economic Opportunity (established on the basis of mixes of employment sectors)
• In order to have comparable features all criteria used were categorized according to their level of importance for each MD
The Peloponnese
• The Peloponnese forms the southern part of mainland Greece and covers an area of 21667.82 km² which is largely rural
• It is cut of from the rest of Greece at the Corinth Canal and as a result it forms a separate geographic unit from the rest of Greece • It ranges from sea level to an altitude of 2300 m
• 2 administrative regions (NUTS II) 7 Prefectures (NUTS III), 161 municipalities (LAU 1) and 1351 municipality departments (LAU 2) and 3 river basin districts Naturalness
• All types of ground cover were divided in four different categories according to the participation of natural features within them (high, medium, low, very low)
• The combination of these data created a single criterion which described each MD according to it’s naturalness
Mountain Limits
600 m
800 m
High
Low
25
12,5
0
25 Kilometers
Natural quality
• Naturalness indicator included information only on quantities of natural land, without taking into account the quality or importance for natural habitat.
• Area of an MD under protected area status
• These areas have a greater importance in maintaining biodiversity but they also play a significant role in increasing landscape values
High
Low
25
12,5
0
25 Kilometers
Natural Environment Indicator
Demographic Features
• The demographic criterion is related to the socioeconomic conditions of a region and it underlines the importance of maintaining a healthy population in the rural areas in order to achieve development of the local markets
• It includes data on
– Population size
– Population change and,
– Ageing. • The selection is based on the assumptions that – small population sizes do not favour economic development
– favourable socio‐economic conditions are reflected upon the positive population change and – low ageing rate of a given population implies a favourable and dynamic demographic situation.
Combined Demographic Indicator
Ageing
Population Growth
Population Size
Economic Features
• For the economic criterion it was considered important to include the sectoral structure of employment, the size of the economically active population and the unemployment rate
• In order to include all sectors and to reflect on the possibilities in different employment, an indicator of economic opportunity was created which established the mixes of different employment sectors. • All three indicators when combined may provide an integrated picture of the economic performance of Greek rural areas. Unemployment
Economically Active Population
Economic Opportunities
Combined Economic Indicator
Results
• Spatial and statistical analysis showed that areas with the highest economic favourability are those with low natural context, and especially those near the coastal areas.
• The low natural context layer is about the presence of agricultural activities and it has to be noted here that intensive agricultural communities, which are normally located in the coastal areas, poses a considerably high economically active population and as a result more employment opportunities are available.
• On the other hand areas with high nature or medium nature context discern a similarly low connection to economic opportunity and size of the economically active population. Results (continued)
• Overall statistical analysis on the components of all three indices showed that there are negative correlations between the natural component and the socioeconomic indicators.
• This correlation corresponds well with the economic development model and shows that although there is a lot of talk about sustainable development the related policies followed do not correspond to an ecologically sustainable development model • However there are some MDs where all indicators rank high (4 or 5) or low (1 or 2). Exceptional Cases
Conclusions
• Correlating natural and socioeconomic data in order to characterise favourability in the rural areas is a fairly novel idea, especially in the case of Greece. • The socio‐economic data were used selectively following specific working assumptions on the demographic dynamics and the economic development trajectories which are present in Greek rural areas. • The analysis revealed the existence of significant spatial patterns both in the demographic and economic criterion. • Given that the central‐continental areas are characterised by higher naturalness, it is therefore important to stress that areas with higher naturalness lack the necessary demographic and economic capacities.
• The analysis of the three criteria has shown that there is significant divergence of socio‐economic and environmental conditions in most of the Peloponnese. Thank you for your attention !