This project has received European Regional
Development Funding through the Interreg IIIB Community
Initiative.
Upcoming Activities
- A REP workshop in Norway is being prepared. More information will follow.
- more upcoming activities will be listed here as soon as there is more information available.
- join the discussions on upcoming REP meetings on our wiki site
REP Newsletters / recent presentations
- position paper Belfast 2009
- "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 2007-2010
- Sera da Estrela Portugal, May 2010
informal meeting on payments for natura 2000 through market mechanisms with Arlindo Cuha, Paulo Castro, Leonardo Costa, Ann Norderhaug, Erik Revdal. Vists were made to cheese factories providing sustainable income to sheppards in the Sera Estrela and a overview was provided by José Carlos Fernandes Miranda on perspectives for dairy farmers in the Porto region.
- Brittany 2010:
Meeting the neighbours - Reconciliation of rural development and dairy farming in Europe. the decision was made that REP should start a Life plus project on 'connecting farming and Natura 2000'.
- Belfast 2009
On April 23-24, 2009, a workshop took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It explored the possibilities for cooperation between farming and nature conservation.
- 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
LAST UPDATE: September 2011
Rewetting Nature - LSV Conference, Arnhem, September 15 2011
REP organises Six Workshop Sessions
The participants of the
Arnhem conference
are invited to explore opportunities to restore wetland biodiversity,
while contributing to sustainable farming, decreasing N deposition,
flood con-trol and conservation of fresh water resources.
Options should be explored for instance how to include raised water
tables in part of the farm land into intensive farm management or
–alternatively- change towards extensive farming, incorporating in the
farm also the management of TOP areas and may be also the management of
other nature habitats such as meadows, grassland and heathlands within
the EHS.
The conference welcomes territory based and integrated solutions for a
wider range of issues such as achieving sustainable agricultural chains,
increasing wetland biodiversity, decreasing N pollution, flood
prevention and con-serving fresh water resources.
The Rural European platform will co-organise six workshop sessions during this conference.
Cambridge UK, January 2011 - Life Plus Project
A REP meeting took place in Cambridge UK on 27-28 January 2011. The Arnhem meeting (see above) was prepared.
During this meeting the Life Plus project Farming4N2000 was formulated. Leading partners are: the Dutch IJssellandschap foundation and Partners, the Government of Niedersachsen, Germany, the Briebza National Park in Poland and private farmers in Germany. After this meeting (March - July 2011), REP provided assistance to the project partners in working out the project plan and formalities for Life Plus project funding.
» read more [link not active yet]
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