Migration as a factor of development of the depopulating areas in East EU countries – The case of Lithuania

Abstract

Natural decrease and out-migration are the main processes causing depopulation of rural areas in most of the easternEU countries. The causes of depopulation are varied as well as numerous and might differ within the same country or even a region. Both internal and international migration play an important role inthepopulation decline in Lithuania, but their relative importance differ from region to region. Depopulation leads to a falling population density and therefore to the shrinkage of social networks, especially in the rural areas. It has broad consequences for the life quality, causes pessimistic attitudes and threatens the future development of the sparsely populated areas. There is little hope that the existing demographictrends will change in the nearest future. However, the analysed processes are usually perceived purely negatively, thoughit is not true in somerespects.

Conservation of disappearing cultural landscape’s biodiversity: are people in Belarus willing to pay for wet grassland restoration?

“…This transition also enables natural resource extraction in previously protected areas ) and is associated with illegal and/or unregulated resource harvesting (Newell and Henry 2017), as well as a reduction in the allocation of resources for biodiversity conservation (Wells and Williams 1998). Concerning cultural landscapes, rural de-population is a ubiquitous trend (e.g., Burneika et al 2014), thus leading to declining biocultural values of traditional cultural landscapes.…”

Rural Development in Sparsely Populated Areas. Vranov Na Dyjí Micro-Region in Moravia

“…Developments after 1989 brought the opening of the state border, however, the neighbouring Lower Austrian region of Waldviertel is one of the least developed regions of the neighbouring country and no significant development impulses could be expected from there 5 . On the other hand, the defence components of the state border left and most of the state support for industry, agriculture and the social system disappeared.…”

“…However, it is necessary to abandon the long-held notion that development is defined quantitatively. Depopulation reduces population density and thus exacerbates the problems of sparsely populated areas (Burneika, Daugirdas andUbarevičiené, 2014, Delgado Viñas, 2019). Some hopes associated with the placement of foreign migrants in sparsely populated areas prove to be odd due to better access to employment opportunities in metropolitan areas (Manakou, 2018).…”

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Zjawisko depopulacji w Polsce jako determinanta rozwoju społeczno-gospodarczego

“…Problem zmian demograficznych, w tym nieodpowiedniej ilości czynnika ludzkiego, jest zauważany również w innych krajach unijnych Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej, m.in. w Rumunii (Otovescu, Otovescu, 2019); na Litwy (Burneika, Daugirdas, Ubarevičienė, 2014); w Czechach i na Słowacji (Bleha, 2019, Bleha i in., 2018. Jak wskazuje bowiem Coleman (2005), turbulencje wywołane przez polityczne i gospodarcze zmiany w Europie Wschodniej na początku lata 90. były największym demograficznym wydarzeniem na przełomie XX i XXI wieku.…”