Title Depopulation of coastal rural Lithuania: do regional parks stabilise the situation?
Translation of Title Депопуляция прибрежных сельских районов Литвы – может ли демографическая ситуация стабилизироваться благодаря региональным паркам?
Authors Verkulevičiūtė-Kriukienė, D ; Bučienė, A ; Čepienė, E
DOI 10.5922/2079-8555-2021-2-5
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Is Part of Baltic region.. Kaliningrad : Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Press. 2021, vol. 13, no. 2, p. 90-111.. ISSN 2079-8555. eISSN 2310-0524
Keywords [eng] depopulation ; disappeared villages ; rural population ; regional parks ; conservation priority
Abstract [eng] Regional parks in Lithuania preserve the most valuable physical and cultural components of the landscape, NATURA 2000 habitats, etc. Usually, they are located in natural or semi-natural landscapes of rural areas. These territories, however, have a higher depopulation rate than urbanised districts. Still, conservation priority areas were expected to attract young families as permanent residents and make their population more stable. This study aims to investigate changes in the rural population in three regional parks of the Klaipėda county to determine the number of abandoned villages (with 0 residents) and vanishing ones (with a population < 5), as compared to territories with no conservation regime. The article examines migration as one of the determinants of depopulation. Analysis of national and local statistics, institutional documents, and structured interviews revealed that the conservation regime applied in regional parks did not necessarily encourage local people to stay or newcomers to arrive. Proximity to the sea and towns with developed social infrastructure remains a priority when looking for a residence in the countryside.
Published Kaliningrad : Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University Press
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2021
CC license CC license description