Ten years of the European Landscape Convention. Balancing knowledge, management and awareness is possible

Mireille Deconinck
General Directorate of Territorial Planning, Housing, Heritage and Energy Wallonia Government

This autumn marks the tenth anniversary of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), representing the ideal occasion to not only describe that done but to retrace the actual progress made thus far.

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International Seminar on Fringes. Landscapes of the Periphery programme and registration

The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, in collaboration with the European Network of Local and Regional Authorities for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention (RECEP-ENELC), is organising the "International Seminar on Fringes. Landscapes of the Periphery" to be held in Olot (Girona) on November 11th and 12th, 2010. The objective of this seminar is to propose new ways of intervening in and managing peripheral areas, providing new landscape references and alternative readings of spaces found between different territorial realities. The programme, which is available for consultation on the Observatory's website, offers interesting presentations in different disciplines.
It's worth noting that presentations will be provided in Catalan, Spanish and Italian and that registration began on September 15th. To complement these presentations, the Landscape Observatory and the City of Olot's Culture Institute have organised a series of additional activities to study these fringes through photography, cinema and plastic arts.

Results from the Paisatge i Cooperació per al Desenvolupament Conference

The Jornada Paisatge i Cooperació per al Desenvolupament ("Landscape and Development Cooperation Conference"), was held on June 18th in Barcelona, organised by the Catalan Landscape Observatory with support from the Government of Canada. More than 100 participants from Catalonia, the rest of Spain and several other European countries took part. The conference served to create a space in which to debate on the role of landscapes in cooperation projects for development, especially in terms of the possibilities landscape provides to improve the quality of life of those societies receiving developmental aid. The various presentations given during the conference will be published in the Landscape Observatory's "Documents" collection in 2011.

The Landscape Observatory publishes its document, Paisatge i participació ciutadana, into English

The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia has just translated its recent book, Paisatge i participació ciutadana, into English: Landscape and Public Participation, available on the Observatory website. With this translation, the Observatory has launched a new line of publications offered completely in English in keeping with its goal of informing about the landscape-related experiences in Catalonia. In this case, this document describes the participatory processes carried out to prepare the Catalan landscape catalogues, processes which, due to their pioneering and innovative nature at the European level, represent a significant initiative with which to begin publishing in English. Landscape and Public Participation can be downloaded free of charge on the Observatory's website.

Definitive approval for the Terres de l'Ebre Landscape Catalogue

On July 22nd, the Government of Catalonia gave definitive approval to the Terres de l'Ebre Landscape Catalogue, the third such catalogue within the seven being prepared by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. Said approval was issued via the Government Edict dated July 22nd regarding the resolution to definitively approve said catalogue (published in the official gazette, DOGC, number 5684 on 08/03/2010). Those interested can consult the content of this new catalogue at the Landscape Observatory website. The Landscape Observatory delivered the Terres de l'Ebre Landscape Catalogue to the Catalan Ministry of Town and Country Planning and Public Works (DPTOP) on July 23rd, 2010, which made the Catalogue available for public consultation from November 10th to December 10th, 2009.

Guides and documents to improve landscape quality

The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia has created a new section on its website called "Guides and documents to improve landscape quality", featuring diverse texts issued by Catalan, European and other international bodies proposing specific criteria and guidelines with which to integrate diverse infrastructures (such as roads and telecommunications infrastructures, wind farms, and economic activity areas, amongst others) into the landscape as best as possible. The aim of this new section is to make this set of guidelines and best practices available to public administrations, developers, and landscape and regional planning professionals.

The content of the Comarques Gironines Landscape Catalogue is available to the public for consultation

The Catalan Ministry of Town and Country Planning and Public Works has provisionally approved the Comarques Gironines Landscape Catalogue, making it available to the public for consultation for a period of one month as of the due notification of this via the official gazette, Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC). The aim of this consultation is for people to raise any concerns they might have, in accordance with the edict published in the DOGC on August 23, 2010, to guarantee maximum participation, transparency and proximity to Government initiatives. The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia delivered the Comarques Gironines Lanscape Catalogue to the Catalan Ministry of Town and Country Planning and Public Works on February 26th, 2010. The full content of this new landscape catalogue can be consulted on the Landscape Observatory's website.

Publication of 'Guia d'estudis d'impacte i integració paisatgística'

Landscape impact and integration studies are instruments foreseen within Catalan landscape and planning legislation to promote the proper insertion of diverse activities within landscapes. Their application, however, is still not consolidated and requires a set of references. This is one of the motives behind the Directorate General for Architecture and the Landscape having published its Guia d'estudis d'impacte i integració paisatgística ("Guide to landscape impact and integration studies"). The goal of the latter is to provide methodological guidelines when preparing diverse studies, orientate different types of interventions, and provide a wide range of technical and informational resources to specify and implement these initiatives.

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the European Landscape Convention's approval

This coming October represents the tenth anniversary of the Council of Europe's approval of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in Florence, Italy. The ELC is the first international treaty which gives legal status to landscapes. The Council of Europe and the Government of Italy have organised diverse celebrations to commemorate the European Landscape Convention's tenth anniversary on October 19th and 20th. The goal of these celebrations is to review the progress made in protecting, managing and planning landscapes in Europe and to promote the application of the law. The ELC entered into effect on March 1st, 2004. To date, 31 Council of Europe member countries have already ratified the Convention: Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Moldavia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom. In addition, seven countries are Convention signatories: Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Malta, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland.

The Council of Europe develops a European-wide information system on the European Landscape Convention

Since January 2009, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia has been collaborating with a working group in the Council of Europe to create a European-wide information system to be able to keep track of the European Landscape Convention. This system will be presented at the upcoming Florence Conference in October, organised to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the European Landscape Convention's signing. This information system is based on a powerful database with information provided by the Council of Europe member states. This database will include information about the different policies enacted by the respective governments and regional authorities. Once fully operational, the system will allow institutions, entities, professionals, universities and the public at large to have access to the leading information and experiences regarding landscape protection, management and planning throughout Europe, all the while encouraging exchange and cooperation between countries and regions to apply the European Landscape Convention.

Assessing the Effect of Road Schemes on Historic Landscape Character

Guide elaborated in 2007 by the English governmental agencies Highways Agency and English Heritage, where the master lines are set forth to make compatible the construction of road infrastructures and the conservation of the historical character of the English landscapes.

Centre de recherche sur l'espace sonore et l'environnement urbain (CRESSON). Laboratoire de l'EAG

Research laboratory attached to the Directorate of Architecture and Heritage of the French Government, located at Grenoble School of Architecture. Its research work concentrates on sensitive environments and on architectural and urban environments.