The Government of Navarre brings the draft Regional Law against Depopulation and for Rural Development to rural areas in order to hear the needs and concerns of local communities
The Government of Navarre’s Mobile Citizen Service Office has begun its tour of several rural municipalities across the Chartered Community to bring the draft Regional Law against Depopulation and for Rural Development closer to citizens and encourage their participation in the development of the future legislation. The initiative includes five participatory sessions, which will take place in Eratsun, Ancín / Antzin, Buñuel, Sánsoain and Isaba / Izaba during September and October.
These sessions will provide an opportunity to present the content and scope of the draft legislation to citizens, answer questions and gather contributions directly from the territory. This initiative will complement the participation channels made available by the Departments of Territorial Cohesion and Rural Development and Environment during the processing of the future law.
The Mobile Office, promoted by the Department of Presidency and Equality and managed by the public company NASERTIC, represents a new way of bringing not only public services to rural municipalities, but also public participation processes and the development of public policies closer to the people who live and work in them.
Five localities will host the sessions in September
The Mobile Office will remain for one week in each of the five localities included in this tour. Specifically, it will be in Eratsun from 31 August to 4 September; Ancín / Antzin from 7 to 11 September; Buñuel from 14 to 18 September; Sánsoain from 21 to 25 September; and Isaba / Izaba from 28 September to 2 October. The specific participation sessions on the draft legislation will take place on 3 September in Eratsun, 10 September in Ancín, 17 September in Buñuel, 24 September in Sánsoain and 1 October in Isaba, all starting at 4:30 p.m.
The aim is for residents of these municipalities and surrounding areas to gain first-hand knowledge of legislation that is being developed with the participation of people who live and work in rural areas and which will subsequently continue through the parliamentary process.
In this context, the Mobile Citizen Service Office sessions will make it possible to bring the process directly to rural municipalities, explain the content of the draft legislation and gather citizens’ contributions. The initiative therefore responds to one of the law’s own objectives: bringing public services and participation in public policies closer to local communities, ensuring that people can help define the measures that will shape the future of rural Navarre.
A law to place rural areas at the heart of public policies
The draft legislation establishes a comprehensive framework to combat depopulation, promote rural development and guarantee territorial cohesion, incorporating the demographic challenge as a cross-cutting element across all public policies. Its main measures include a mandatory demographic and territorial impact report for the development of public policies, the classification of municipalities at risk of depopulation, economic support measures, a rural housing strategy, the promotion of entrepreneurship, the strengthening of public services and demand-responsive transport.
The legislation seeks to ensure that living in a rural municipality does not limit access to services or opportunities to develop a life project. To this end, it includes measures in education, healthcare, social services and connectivity, as well as protected and collaborative rural housing, the mobilisation of vacant housing and actions to protect the heritage, landscape and identity of villages. It also provides for the creation of the Specially Protected Rural Entrepreneurship status, support for generational renewal and measures to promote the local economy, rural tourism and the green, social and cooperative economy.
Citizen participation promoted through the Mobile Office reflects the territorial governance model encouraged by the draft legislation, as a key tool for addressing the demographic challenge and achieving balanced rural development, while promoting coordination among public administrations and the participation of local entities and economic and social stakeholders in decision-making processes.
Source: navarra.es
