Nine transnational projects involving Highlands and Islands partners, worth approximately £4m, have been approved by the EU Northern Periphery Programme.  The projects will include support for broadband, community forests, research on rural care for the elderly, international networking for small businesses and aquaculture developments.

The project 'Broadband in remote and rural areas' (BIRRA) involves the Western Isles in the exchange of best practice on the use of broadband services and application in peripheral areas and ways in which to increase the use of broadband.

Partners in Scotland include Western Isles Enterprise (WIE) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.  Donnie Macaulay, chief executive of WIE, said: "The main objective of the BIRRA project is to develop, in partnership with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and similarly minded organisations in Finland, Sweden and Iceland, a local plan to maximise social and economic benefits for the Western Isles with a high speed broadband network providing jobs and opportunities within our community. 

"We are delighted this funding has been approved and as one of the key strands of the economic regeneration strategy, Creating Communities of the Future, BIRRA will provide new opportunities to deliver both public and private sector services and will have significant benefits for our communities and the voluntary sector."

'Enhancing local value from forest land' (ELAV) involves the Forestry Commission, the Community Woodland Association (CWA) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise's (HIE) Community Land Unit. 

John Hollingdale of the Community Woodland Association said: "The CWA is delighted by the approval of this project, which will deepen and widen community involvement in managing Scotland's woods and forests, and build and strengthens links with communities across the Nordic nations."

Munro Gauld from the Community Land Unit added: "This is a great opportunity to share our experience in community management of woodland with our Nordic partners and learn from them."
 
The 'Our life as elderly' project will examine the future needs of the elderly over the next 10-15 years.  Scottish partners include the Centre for Rural Health and UHI Millennium Institute.  "Involvement in this project will help us to share experiences of providing support and care for the elderly population with countries that are facing similar demographic and geographic challenges to our own," said Dr Helen Richards of the Centre for Rural Health.

The existing 'Small towns network' project has received funding for a further two years with Scottish partners comprising The Highland Council, Ross and Cromarty Enterprise, Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise and Inverness and Nairn Enterprise.

Mike Greaves, head of community planning and economic development at The Highland Council said: "I am delighted that the community-led regeneration work of the Highland small towns' network and our trans-national partners has earned continued support from the Northern Periphery.  It's really important for continuity and a great tribute to the hard work of volunteers working in local community initiatives in all the towns from Golspie to Nairn."

The 'North cod' project aims to establish a sustainable production of cod fry to promote successful cod farming in northern areas.  With the decline in wild fisheries for cod, aquaculture of this species has become commercially realistic and is now an emergent industry in the northern periphery countries. 

The establishment of sustainable cod aquaculture will benefit local economies, including related sectors such as fish processing.  The project is led in Scotland by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) Ardtoe Marine Laboratory and is part financed by HIE.  The project also involves the Nufish hatchery in Shetland, Orkney Marine Hatcheries Ltd and the University of Stirling's Machrihanish Laboratory. 

Jim Treasurer, research manager of SAMS Ardtoe, said: "This project will enable closer cooperation between marine finfish hatcheries in the HIE network area and Iceland, Norway and Russia in developing methods of farming cod more reliably and sustainably.  There are still many technical issues in the hatchery production of cod that have to be improved."