As part of the series of lectures on "Agriculture and Agricultural Policy", which is offered under the direction of Prof. Dr Ingo Mose in the COAST master's cluster
, Dr Jürgen Wilhelm, policy officer from the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, visited the University of Oldenburg on Monday, 6 January 2014. In front of numerous students, other interested parties from the university and various representatives from institutions outside the university, Dr Wilhelm spoke on the topic of "Implementation of the EU agricultural reform in Lower Saxony - objectives and evaluation". In his presentation, the speaker also addressed the agricultural policy objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is headed by the Green Party. It became clear that the focus of future agricultural policy in Lower Saxony will be on greater consideration of environmental objectives, as also envisaged by the EU in the course of so-called "greening". In addition, family farms in particular are to be strengthened in their role in agriculture in Lower Saxony. It became clear that this does not only refer to agricultural production in the narrower sense, but to rural development as a whole. This should be more strongly orientated towards sustainability goals. The series of lectures will continue on Monday, 14 January 2014 with a presentation by the Managing Director of the Centre of Excellence for Organic Farming on the situation of organic farming in Lower Saxony. The series is organised and financed by the Jean Monnet Chair for "Europeanisation and Sustainable Spatial Development".

Download the lecture.

Paula Lang visited the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group for this year's Future Day, where pupils can take a look at possible careers. Paula is in Year 8 at Liebfrauenschule in Oldenburg. At the working group, she was able to record geographical coordinates with a GPS and then process environmental information with a geographic information system (GIS) and create a map. Paula was then given an insight into the landscape ecology laboratory and the analysis of environmental samples. At the end of the day, the pupil carried out literature research on the consequences of climate change in the Alpine region. "Today was a great change from school and super interesting for me," she said, expressing her satisfaction with the experience of the Future Day at the University of Oldenburg.

The head of the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group, Prof Dr Ingo Mose, is taking up a teaching assignment at the University of Salzburg in the 2014 summer semester as part of the ERASMUS partnership.
Together with his colleague there, Prof Dr Karl Müller from the Institute for German Studies, he is offering a seminar entitled "On the construction of nature and landscape from an interdisciplinary perspective". Students from the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes in German Studies and Geography will take part in the event. Students of history and theology have also registered. After an initial block of events last week, the event will be continued in June. Ingo Mose has visited the partner university in Salzburg several times in the past and has also worked there as a visiting professor in the Department of Geography and Geology.

The Rural Areas Working Group of the German Geographical Society (DGfG) recently held its three-day annual conference at the University of Oldenburg for the first time. The general theme of this year's conference was "European Peripheries between Stagnation and New Beginnings" and, at the invitation of the Jean Monnet Chair "Europeanisation and Sustainable Spatial Development" of Prof. Dr. Ingo Mose, which is part of the Applied Geography and Environmental Planning working group, it brought around 60 geographers from all over Germany to Oldenburg. In keeping with the European dimension of the conference topic, several guests from other European countries - France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Scotland and Portugal - also came to Oldenburg, including representatives from universities with which the University of Oldenburg maintains an ERASMUS partnership.

Research on the development of rural peripheries has always been a central theme of research on rural geography. While in the past the peripheries were predominantly perceived as problem areas or even as a "remnant" of spatial development, the image of these regions is now subject to considerable differentiation throughout Europe. As the various expert presentations made clear, this concerns both the considerable development dynamics that characterise various peripheries today and the large number of fields of action that are currently under discussion in the rural regions "on the periphery".

Several examples impressively illustrated the scope of the development processes that can be observed throughout Europe, as well as the associated challenges and problems. As the example of the Scottish Hebrides showed, revitalisation processes are often the result of bottom-up initiatives by the local population, who define their own priorities for the development of their regions. In particular, these initiatives are characterised by demands for participatory, self-responsible development based on the principles of sustainability. Projects for a "gentle" valorisation of the natural and cultural heritage for tourism, projects for the development and marketing of regional products in agriculture, but also initiatives for the use of renewable energies provide illustrative examples of such approaches.

The latter play a not uncontroversial role in many regions. The opportunities that arise from the use of renewable energies as new sources of income for rural peripheries were therefore focussed on, as well as the risks that can arise at the same time. The "cornification" of the landscape and the loss of valuable grassland biotopes, as well as the threat of being sold off to major international investors, are hotly debated topics in this context, which also affect various regions in north-west Germany.

The consequences of demographic change are also known to be associated with particular problems for many rural peripheries. The continuing exodus of younger people, the ageing of the remaining population and the associated issues relating to the provision of services of general interest are of concern to peripheral rural areas in France as well as in Sweden and Germany. However, universal solutions are not to be expected; the challenge lies rather in formulating answers adapted to the respective situation.

As part of an excursion to the district of Wesermarsch, discussions with various stakeholders "on the ground" provided interesting insights into developments right on Oldenburg's doorstep. The mayor of the municipality of Lemwerder, Ms Regina Neuke, addressed issues of local development in the face of shrinking, in particular the modernisation of outdated buildings and ensuring a sustainable infrastructure. On the other hand, Christoph Muth, Managing Director of the Center Parcs Nordseeküste in Tossens, addressed the question of what positive effects a major tourist facility can have on regional development. Finally, a visit to the Neustadt village community centre near Ovelgönne provided the opportunity to discuss the potential of civic engagement in the region with Torsten Horstmann, one of the initiators of the cooperative meeting point, and Meike Lücke from the regional management "Wesermarsch in Bewegung".

At the end of the event, Prof. Dr Ulrike Grabski-Kieron, University of Münster, and her colleague Prof. Mose, spokesperson for the Rural Areas Working Group, gave an all-round positive summary of the conference. Above all, the idea of European networking and learning from each other in an enlarged Europe was identified by all participants as an immense opportunity for overcoming future challenges in dealing with the problems of rural peripheries.