Public policies against rural depopulation in Spain. A review from the perspective of administrative law

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose lines of review for policies against rural depopulation in Spain, with a view to improving their effectiveness. On the one hand, the phenomenon of depopulation should not be linked to the issue of demographic challenge without some precautions, because a possible rejuvenation of the country's population would not necessarily imply the repopulation of rural areas. On the contrary, what has happened at other times in history (specifically, during the various waves of industrialisation) is that sharp increases in population have led to the mass abandonment of rural areas and the growth of cities, and this continues to be the case today in less developed countries. Furthermore, for policies against depopulation to be effective, they would have to be preceded by a reflection on what is to be combated. The negative effects of depopulation can be grouped into two broad categories: cultural effects and natural effects. The former refer to the loss of anthropological heritage resulting from the abandonment of rural population centres. The latter stem from the abandonment of agricultural activity, which implies a lack of cultivation and care of fields and forests, with the consequent spontaneous development of vegetation, which favours the multiplication and aggravation of forest fires. However, these two types of negative effects of depopulation should not be placed on the same level; cultural effects do not pose a vital threat to society, but natural effects do. The paper also reflects on the role that administrative law should play in the implementation of these policies, because it seems clear that its function should not be limited to the various techniques of administrative promotion. Administrative law offers other useful instruments for the development and implementation of public policies against rural depopulation, the first of which are public planning techniques. It is not certain, however, that the new concept of so-called “strategies” is the most appropriate in the case at hand, since the territorial dimension of the phenomenon of depopulation would suggest that it would be better to resort to territorial planning techniques that fall within the framework of land use policy, and to coordinate them with rural development and urban planning techniques. Another trend that can be observed is the cross-cutting introduction of demographic and territorial perspectives into administrative development activities and, in particular, into the design of subsidies and public aid, as well as into public procurement, which raises many doubts due to the difficulty of simultaneously complying with so many factors that legislation is trying to impose on these instruments of administrative activity. Finally, the general interest in combating the negative effects of rural depopulation allows for the use of more invasive techniques of intervention in private activity, such as the expropriation of abandoned farms for the implementation of agricultural recovery projects previously approved by the administration.