For this it must be ensured that all people have an opportunity to obtain sufficient general education and vocational training enabling them to seize the job opportunities open to them. Guaranteeing access to productive resources, settling conflicts over land use Secure and equitable access to soil, water, forest and genetic resources as well as to loans, inputs, technology and extension services are vital prerequisites for sustainable development. Where necessary, this requires the reforming and reorganization of property relations and the securing of long-term usufructuary rights for rural producers. Modern land management requires legal and planning certainty concerning the property and use of land. It also requires an integrated concept for the efficient and environmentally sound management of land resources facilitating the reconciliation of competing claims to land use.
Stable ecosystems are the vital basis for human existence and development.
Policies promoting the sustainable development of rural areas always focus on securing natural life support systems and the natural heritage. Environmental aspects must also be included in other policy areas. For environmental policy to be more effective, effective environmental policy instruments should be used to prevent pollution or reduce it to an inevitable level and to limit environmental hazards. It is above all market-compatible environmental policy instruments which can make the conservation of resources and their effective use more attractive through financial incentives and their flexible application. Establishing a balanced partnership between urban and rural areas Rural areas and conurbations jointly form regions and are partners of regional development.