The Model of Rural Development in Galicia: analysis and prospects

Rural environment makes important contributions to the society. These contributions will depend, to a great extent, on the role which will be assigned to it in the future. In Galicia (Spain), serious problems of rural population drift and impoverishment of its rural areas have been revealed. So, authorities have made a great effort in order to palliate this situation. An integrated development of rural habitat has been proposed (Plan Estratégico de Desarrollo Económico (PEDEGA 2000-2006)), choosing a model that we could describe as ‘attenuated top-down’. The purpose of this essay is to analyse this model and to make several proposals which could improve its implementation.