REVIVE: Restoring Ecosystems in the Face of Depopulation Via Innovation & Entrepreneurship

About

This research project has been awarded DKK 1.9 Million - and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union

Over the last fifty years, the world’s population has doubled. At the same time, many rural areas have been quietly emptying out and deteriorating. When people leave, the land does not stay the same, when agricultural towns and fishing settlements are abandoned, and the way nature works begins to change.

These changes matter because healthy landscapes provide us with ecosystem services: the hidden benefits that keep both people and nature balanced. These services feed us with crops and energy, protect us by filtering water and preventing erosion, and enrich our lives with culture. When these services break down, the effects spread out: ecosystems weaken, local economies decline, and our own well-being is put at risk.

This project brings together university academics, entrepreneurs, and local residents of all ages to tackle the challenges of rural depopulation and its impact on nature. The goal is to give people the tools and skills to create sustainable businesses that also protect the environment.

The project aims to set up a system to track how population changes affect ecosystems, local economies, and communities, so that we can better understand what is happening in rural areas. To make sure knowledge is widely available, the project offers community workshops and online resources designed specifically for local needs.

Finally, the project will collect and share successful ideas and practices across partner countries, so that both researchers and policymakers can learn how to respond effectively to the realities of rural depopulation.

Objectives

1. Develop a Multi-Country MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

We will design an online course with multiple modules exploring the links between sustainable entrepreneurship and ecosystem services. The course will equip rural residents with practical skills and knowledge to build sustainable ventures that balance environmental stewardship with economic resilience.

2. Create a Geospatial Data Toolkit

The project will build a comprehensive database to monitor changes in ecosystem services—covering provisioning, regulating, and cultural dimensions, alongside demographic and economic indicators such as employment and output. An interactive Geospatial Infographic Toolkit will make these complex dynamics easier to understand and apply for learners, researchers, and policymakers.

3. Share Best Practices

A Handbook of Depopulation and Ecosystem Sustainability will collect insights from partner countries, offering an interdisciplinary perspective on rural depopulation, economic development, and environmental sustainability. It will serve as a practical reference for academics, policymakers, and local communities to guide strategies for sustainable rural revitalization.

Who?

Principal Investigator: Javier Arnaut (University of Greenland).

Partners: University of Oulu (Finland), University of Salamanca (Spain), University of Catania (Italy), National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography (Bulgaria), Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences (Lithuania).