**4. Conclusions**

The study describes the applicability of GIS tools for the sustainable development of rural areas:


The main determinants of growth in agricultural areas, forests, and fisheries were defined based on the main sources of income in rural communities. The implemented measures have to be continuously monitored to guarantee that they serve the intended purpose. The data, methods, and tools that are most appropriate for the research objective, scope of study, and analyzed area have to be selected. The acquisition of the most relevant data is the key to success. In many cases, the relevant data can be obtained only from institutions responsible for the implementation of a given program or task. For an integrated GIS to be developed based on the provisions of the INSPIRE Directive, these data have to be made available to the public. The results of the study emphasize the need for a pan-European geographic information system that facilitates the identification of various spatial phenomena, contributing to decision-making in the localization process and the identification of the key determinants of sustainable growth. These efforts require consistent development strategies, a rational spatial policy, and legal regulations that define the goals of sustainable development. The success of this undertaking will be largely determined by the cohesiveness and applicability of GIS data and the effectiveness of monitoring.

Creating and sharing spatial data in digital form is not only good practice but is also regulated by specific legal acts. Currently created in Poland under the INSPIRE Directive, map portals and the widely available General Geographic Object Databases offer a reliable, current, and continuous source of spatial information for the entire country, extremely helpful in the planning process at various levels of generalization. The database implemented into the Spatial Information System is its most important element and should constitute a complete and reliable representation of elements of the real world.

GIS systems allow us to formulate models in a structured and formal way to reflect both the current situation and forecast changes that will occur in space when certain conditions are met.

The proposed methodology can be used in practical applications:


**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization: K.K. and R.M.-B.; methodology: K.K., R.M.-B., and S.B.; formal analysis: K.K., S.B., and C.K.; investigation: R.M.-B. and S.B.; data curation: K.K., R.M.-B., S.B., and A.A.; writing—original draft preparation: K.K., R.M.-B., S.B., A.A., and C.K.; writing—review and editing: K.K., R.M.-B., S.B., A.A., and C.K.; supervision: K.K. and R.M.-B.; project administration: K.K.; funding acquisition: K.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** Not applicable.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
