This project has received European Regional
Development Funding through the Interreg IIIB Community
Initiative.
Upcoming Activities
- a meeting in Brittany (France) is being prepared.
- a meeting in Ukraine (Kijiv) is being considered.
- join the discussions on upcoming REP meetings on our wiki site
REP Newsletters / recent presentations
- position paper Belfast 2009 being prepared
- "Expertgroep Stad-Land"/Purple, Leiden, The Netherlands, March 2009 (in Dutch)
- position paper Porto 2008
- presentation at Plantemøte, Hamar, Norway, February 2008
- position paper 2007
- newsletter August 2007
- newsletter April 2007
- presentation at the South Downs JC meeting in Chichester, April 2007
REP meeting Falenty 2006
REP Norway 2004
Register with REP and edit your contact data online
REP wiki
An interactive website is now available to all friends of REP.
REP video
Look at the video "Rural European Platform meeting at Langstraat "
If your browser does not open the video window, please click here.
REP meetings 2007-2008
- EEMLAND 2008
At the European Eemland Conference "Versatile Countryside" (Bunschoten NL, October 23, 2008), REP organised a workshop in cooperation with Stichting Geldersch Landschap and Stuurgroep Landbouw Innovatie Brabant. The results of the Vairão Conference were put forward at this workshop.
- Biebrza (Poland), 2009
a meeting took place in April 2009.
- PORTO (Vairão) 2008
The CAP after 2014. workshop Porto, October 2-3, 2008. A territorially based CAP allows to articulate the CAP with other EU and national sectoral policies, to internalise social, economic, and environmental externalities.
- BOXTEL 2007
A high level REP workshop took place in Boxtel (October 2007).
The Rural European Platform
Workshop, Belfast April 23-24, 2009:
Cooperation between Farmers and Nature
Conservation in Europe.
On April 23-24, 2009, a workshop took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It explored the possibilities for cooperation between farming and nature conservation. A central issue was the development of profitable low input farming systems, also as a contribution to managing the Natura 2000 network. The participants concluded that there is an important role for farmers to play and that the farmers should be rewarded for the important public goods they produce. "Let us talk less about farmers and more with them. We do have a strong common interest".
What and Who is REP?
But there are also opportunities. Sustainable management of the countryside can create jobs and income for the regional economy. Biodiversity can be protected at the same time. Many successful examples illustrate how this can be done.
REP is the platform that makes knowledge from practical
experience on sustainable rural development available to farmers,
policy makers, investors and other stakeholders.
The Initiative
REP is an initiative of Alterra and the Norwegian Crop Research Institute. It was first launched at an international workshop in Lien, Svartdal (Norway) in July 2004. The result of the workshop was the Lien Declaration.
Responsibilities
REP developed as an informal network of organisations and experts. It is governed by an Executive Committee and an Advisory Board. The next step is to set up a clearer governance structure based on an explicit constitution and to provide office support on a daily basis. Appropriate funding is the first requirement.
REP Projects
REP is a network of successful rural development projects. Successful REP projects have been identified in, among other countries, Poland, the UK, the Netherlands and Portugal. They have been proven to:- contribute to the regional economy and the creation of jobs
- contribute to protecting the environment