ABSTRACT
This chapter explores aspects of the promotion of rural sustainable development at the sub-national level in Norway. Rural sustainable development refers to economic development for the benefit of rural communities based on sustainable use of the natural resources on which such development depends. It involves both the sustainable use of natural resources for commercial purposes and nature conservation in general, for example the protection of endangered species and their habitats. To combine nature protection and economic development based on the use of natural resources is a challenge to rural sustainable development that is made greater by the fact that many rural communities in Norway, as in the rest of Europe, are facing a decline in economic activity and population.
