Landscape and Development Cooperation

The territorial dimension, in its widest sense, has always been extraordinarily relevant to the field of development cooperation. Issues such as the environment, energy resources, tourism and cultural heritage, among others, have been central to many specific cooperation schemes, and precisely for this reason they have been debated in greater or lesser depth in various forums for reflection. Inexplicably, however, this has not been the case with the landscape, a concept that in fact can express better than any other the dialectical and often contradictory relationship between nature and culture, and at the same time provides access to the complex world of collective imaginations. As such, it would seem to be particularly appropriate in international development cooperation. Convinced of its potential also in this sphere, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia, in collaboration with the Government of Canada, has decided to organise a seminar to study the structuring role of the landscape in international cooperation projects. Special attention will be paid to the possibilities the landscape offers with regard to improving the living conditions of societies that receive cooperation.