EU Rural Review Number 23 (2017)

A green economy is one that provides economic opportunities and improved human well-being in harmony with the sustainable management of natural resources. The transition to green rural economies is about improving people’s lives and livelihoods in rural areas, balancing natural resource use with maintaining incomes, and trading the risks of making a change with the opportunities that change will bring. Promoting the Transition to the Green Economy was a priority theme of the ENRD Contact Point’s Annual Work Programme for 2015-16, supported by Thematic Group work. This edition of the EU Rural Review picks up on this work and presents the main areas of discussion and related findings. It specifically aims to show how Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) can be used to take advantage of rural development opportunities in transition to the green economy.