European sustainable development rural actor database

Administrative organization

Form of State: Unitarian State.
The State holds legislative power in all matters.
Interesting ministries:

• Ministry of Agriculture. Minister: Mme Kazimira Danute Prunskiene.
• Ministry of the Environment. Minister: M. Arunas Kundrotas.

Total public expenditure: € 6.9 billions = 33.6% GDP.
Sub-national public expenditure: € 1.7 billions = 8.1% GDP = 24.2% total public expenditure.

Rural life

Utilized agricultural area: 43.7% total area, i.e. about 27,202 km2.
Rural population: 33.4% total population.
Labour force in agriculture: 151,000 Annual Work Units (AWU).
Unemployment rate by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 7.9%
• Intermediate areas: unavailable data
• Thinly populated areas: 8.7%

Employment rate by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 66.2%
• Intermediate areas: unavailable data
• Thinly populated areas: 60.1%

Youth unemployment ratio by degree of urbanisation:

• Densely populated areas: 4.1%
• Intermediate areas: unavailable data
• Thinly populated areas: 3.8%
• Total: 3.9%

Share of organic area in total utilised agricultural area: 2.3%.

Sustainability

The Lithuanian SD strategy was adopted by the Government in September 2003. The strategy is based on the standard 3-dimensional definition of SD, and also analyzes regional development issues separately. Given the specific characteristics of Lithuania as a transformation economy, it is specified as the main objective of SD policy « to achieve the present developmental level of EU countries by 2020 ». The document therefore sets short-term (by 2005), medium term (by 2010) and longterm objectives (by 2020). The main axes of the strategy are the following:

• Environmental quality and natural resources: air pollution, water pollution, landscape and biodiversity, waste management.
• Economic Development: economic growth, transport, industry, energy, agriculture and soil, household sector, tourism.
• Social issues: employment, minimisation of poverty and social exclusion, public health, enhancement of the role of education and science.
• Regional development: decrease inter-regional differences, territorial administrative reform, and decentralisation of competences to regional and local authorities.

The Ministry of the Environment is to co-ordinate the implementation of the NSDS while the other Ministries are called upon to revise their national programmes. Management of the implementation of the SDS is to respect the subsidiarity principle, and therefore closely involves local authorities.
Lithuania is also participating in the Project Baltic 21 to cooperate with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden on SD issues.
Environmental protection expenditure in the public sector: 0.1% of GDP, i.e. 4€ per capita.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of GDP: 0.5%.
Government expenditure on environment protection, in % of total government expenditure: unavailable data.
Area protected under the Habitats Directive as a percentage of total area: 10%.