Lack of employment is the main factor that has led to the depopulation of different rural areas in the Region of Murcia. However, the pandemic may be a stimulus to curb this problem.
This is clear from the consultation carried out between institutions and some 400 residents of these populations and that it is part of the first phase of the Strategy to Fight Depopulation and Improvement of the Quality of Life in Rural Areas of the Region of Murcia in the that the Regional Government is working on. Among the opinions collected, 38.5 percent indicate the lack of employment as the main reason that has influenced the loss of population in recent years.
In the meeting held with the mayors of the 16 municipalities integrated in the Table against Depopulation, the Minister of the Presidency and Finance, Javier Celdrán, has detailed that this study reflects that one of the main conclusions drawn is that “the pandemic can suppose, indirectly, an opportunity for the repopulation of rural areas “.
Thus, the lower incidence of the pandemic in these areas due to the lower population density, as well as the greater contact with nature, are factors that are increasingly valued by citizens when choosing their place of residence.
Regarding the attractions when it comes to maintaining residence in a municipality, respondents highlight “job opportunities, the improvement of infrastructure for access to the municipality, connectivity, facilitating access to housing or a greater offer of basic services and cultural “.
Once the collection of information and contributions has been completed, the Strategy will define and implement the transversal measures that respond to this demographic challenge, especially in the 16 municipalities that register a loss of inhabitants. The measures will also benefit any other rural nucleus in the Region of Murcia, regardless of the municipality to which it belongs.
The 16 municipalities most affected by this demographic challenge and represented today in the meeting with Celdrán include the eight under 5,000 inhabitants (Albudeite, Aledo, Campos del Río, Ojós, Pliego, Ricote, Ulea and Villanueva del Río Segura), as well as to another eight that in recent years have experienced a population decline, either globally throughout the municipality, or only in their districts (Abanilla, Abarán, Bullas, Calasparra, Caravaca de la Cruz, Cehegín, Lorca and Moratalla) .
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