Rural development tendencies in Plungė region

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas Plungės rajono plėtros tendencijos, jų veiklos galimybės kaimo bendruomenių jėgomis. Kaimo plėtra grindžiama bendruomenės poreikiais bei interesais ir reiškiasi aktyviu vietos gyventojų dalyvavimu veikloje. Siekiant identifikuoti Plungės rajono gyventojų nuomonę apie jų gyvenamąją aplinką, bendruomenių veiklos galimybes ir problemas bei pagrįsti gyventojų poreikius, buvo atlikta anketinė apklausa, kurioje dalyvavo 236 respondentai, bei interviu su Plungės rajono kaimo bendruomenių vadovais. Bendruomenių vadovai suteikė informacijos apie kaimo plėtros problemas.The article deals with rural development tendencies in Plungė region in Lithuania after analysis of needs of local population and possibilities of activity of rural communities. Rural development is based on needs and interests of the community and manifests in active participation of local population in activities. In order to find out opinion of inhabitants of Plungė region on environment they live in, possibilities and problems of activity of communities, and also to substantiate needs of inhabitants, an interview with leaders of rural communities of Plungė region and questionnaire survey in which 236 respondents participated were carried out. In interview, leaders of communities provided information on problems and objectives of rural development. Rural development measures in Plungė region are planned with reference to the most important problems (mainly infrastructure related) recognized by rural population. These measures are expensive; therefore their implementation requires comprehensive investigation and discussion. The main rural development tendencies are establishment of new companies and businesses. Especially good perspectives here are for rural tourism and development of local services, possibilities to renovate villages using EU support. Improvement of life quality of village people cannot be dissociated from cooperation and partnership with various NGOs and self government organizations, therefore much attention should be paid to strengthening of rural communities' relations