• The autonomous community has designed the first Urban and Rural Development Agendas (ADUR) in five different areas
• The experiences will serve as an analysis of the needs of the territories affected by depopulation.

In 2020, 74.5% of municipalities in Castilla-La Mancha had lost population compared to 1996, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics ( INE ). This places the autonomous community nationally as the sixth most affected by this demographic phenomenon, in response to which its regional government has just adopted a new measure regarding rural policies.

Thus, the Government of Castilla-La Mancha will launch five unprecedented pilot projects in 2024 to lay the foundations for a new strategy focused on each of the 26 zones into which the Castilla-La Mancha Rural Development Network ( RECAMDER ) divides the territory.

Thus, each of these areas will receive a pilot experience, which will be called Urban and Rural Development Agendas ( ADUR ).

Territorial collaboration against depopulation

The five initial ADURs—which will be present in all five provinces—have been formed as an instrument for developing the Regional Strategy to Combat Depopulation, to “embody everything that has been implemented since the approval of the Law on Measures to Combat Depopulation ” in 2021, as highlighted by the Deputy Minister of Strategic Planning, José Antonio Carrillo, last November.

The regional government has designed the ADURs to articulate all environmental, business, and infrastructure policies, but with the added benefit that they will be agreed upon with Local Action Groups (LAGs), municipalities , and other territorial stakeholders (companies, professional associations, etc.). The objective, in short, is to "bring the spotlight to each territory, its problems, and its strengths, and be able to impact these areas."

Furthermore, the measures will be discussed with the Spanish Government and international organizations such as the European Union and the UN, thanks to their design within the 2030 Agenda and the Spanish Urban Agenda .

Measures to recover population

One of the actions that has already begun to shape the project was the delimitation of areas affected by depopulation. This allows the regional government to establish various tax incentives (up to 25% of the regional income tax bracket), economic incentives (positive discrimination measures, up to 40% aid for businesses or the self-employed), and guaranteed access to public services.

The ADURs will make their debut in the Comarca de la Jara (Toledo), where "480 people have moved in recent years," according to the commissioner of the Demographic Challenge, Jesús Alique.