Today rural areas are subjected to a number of problems such as institution fragmentation, demographic declination (migration of young people towards urban centres), poor infrastructures and services, weak economic activities as well as lack of know-how and scarce innovation capacity both in technical and governance terms. On the other hand, rural areas have an extremely valuable natural and cultural heritage representing local identity but not driven by appropriate governance for this territorial level. In this context the project intends to experiment an integrated planning pattern for supporting the sustainable development of Mediterranean rural areas. Sustainability concept ensures that the nature conservation and the improvement of living conditions for people are taken into consideration equally. In the search for balanced and shared solutions, the key actors and the stakeholders will be intensively involved.