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Bottom-up Efforts for a Low-Carbon Economy: Examples of Local Action Groups Activities in Poland and the Czech Republic

(University of Hradec Králové, 2024-04) Trnková, Gabriela; Furmankiewicz, Marek; Kola-Bezka, Maria; Hewitt, Richard J.; University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic; Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland; Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland; Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain

Actions to counteract and adapt to rapid climate change caused by human activity require large-scale initiatives undertaken by international agencies and central governments as well as changes in the functioning of local economies and communities. In this article, we analyze the possibilities of involving rural territorial partnerships (so-called Local Action Groups; LAGs) in supporting the transformation of the EU local socio-economic systems towards a low-carbon economy (LCE). LAGs operate as associations of local stakeholders from the public, business, social and voluntary sectors and work for local socio-economicdevelopment. They can implement projects supporting energy transformation at three levels: as cooperation projects between LAGs and external institutions, as individual (own) projects, and by supporting grassroots initiatives of local stakeholders. In this paper we present examples of such activities, based on content analysis of LAGs strategic documents and websites. We point out that the potential of LAGs in supporting initiatives towards LCE is currently underused, which may be due to the low social awareness and low financial resources of local communities. However, LAGs have significant potential to support local pro-environmental initiatives using neo-endogenous development mechanisms, in which voluntary local actions are stimulated by external support.

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Cross-border Cooperation Between Local Action Groups from Poland and the Czech Republic: Three Case Studies

(University of Hradec Králové, 2022-06-10) Furmankiewicz, Marek; Trnková, Gabriela; Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland; University of Hradec Kralove, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

The paper presents three case studies of cooperation projects involving Local Action Groups (LAGs) from Poland and the Czech Republic. The research involved an analysis of the content of documents, LAG websites and interviews with LAG representatives. The projects were financed from the funds of “Sub-measure 19.3” of the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP) in Poland. The aims of the projects concerned, among others: promoting the area of the LAG by exchanging experiences related to tradition, culture, including the promotion of healthy or traditional local dishes; promoting methods of waste segregation and processing; and developing local tourist services through international promotion and networking of services. As the main difficulty the respondents indicated differences in the principles behind accounting the projects, which had to be settled separately with regard to national RDP programmes, even though they are components of a single cooperation project. Czech respondents pointed to a high level of limitations regarding the scope of financing LAG activities. The COVID-19 pandemic, language barriers and geographical distance were mentioned much less. Cross-border cooperation between the LAGs remains relatively weak as partnerships tend to focus on local issues and needs. This may limit the diffusion of innovation and good practices between rural areas.

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