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Doc. 10928
5 May 2006
Conservation and use of the landscape potential of Europe
Report
Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local
and Regional Affairs
Rapporteur: Mr Valeriy Sudarenkov, Russian Federation, Socialist
Group
Summary
Landscape management is intrinsically connected with the concept of sustainable development that the Parliamentary Assembly considers as a paramount stake of the XXI century.
The Assembly considers quality and diversity of the landscape as a pan-European asset that requires needs common European standards. Member states must take general measures aiming at the recognition of the concept of landscape in national law and allowing the implementation of proper national, regional and local landscape policies as well as the participation of civil society and non-governmental organisations in schemes to preserve the potential of the landscape. The Assembly also considers it essential to take specific measures to educate the population and increase public awareness, in particular through school education.
A. Draft recommendation
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reasserts the Council of Europe’s ongoing commitment to a form of regional/spatial planning that enables the populations of all Council of Europe member states to have a better standard of living as well as in favour of the principle of sustainable development.
2. It draws attention to the Council of Europe’s legal instruments relevant to the protection and management of the natural and cultural environment and regional/spatial planning, in particular the European Cultural Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the European Landscape Convention, which came into force on 1 March 2004.
3. It also draws attention to Committee of Ministers Recommendation (2002) 1 to member states on the Guiding principles for sustainable spatial development of the European Continent.
4. The Assembly is aware that present-day landscape management problems are connected with the concept of sustainable development and its implications for relations between human beings and their natural environment.
5. European landscapes have taken shape over the centuries under the growing influence of human activities and, over time, the impact of the economy on the general appearance and specific components of the landscape has become increasingly obvious. The principle of sustainable development is based on the idea that socio-economic development and environmental problems are inextricably linked.
6. The Assembly sees the quality and diversity of the landscape as a pan-European asset that requires general measures such as recognition of the concept of landscape in national law, the implementation of proper national, regional and local landscape policies and the participation of civil society and non-governmental organisations in schemes to preserve the potential of the landscape.
7. It also considers it essential to take specific measures to educate the population and increase public awareness, in particular through school education.
8. It believes that the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT) is the political body best placed to help co-ordinate the achievement of shared objectives and joint spatial development strategies throughout Europe, particularly when it comes to protecting landscapes.
9. The Assembly draws particular attention in this connection to the existing expertise of the regions in numerous member states in terms of spatial planning and the existence of cross-border areas with exceptional biological diversity.
10. Moreover, the Assembly stresses that Europe needs common standards of landscape classification in order to compare the various areas, mappings and landscape planning and management methods that make it possible to assess the impact of the economy on the environment and on landscapes.
11. The Parliamentary Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
11.1. ask the governments of member states to sign and/or ratify the European Landscape Convention if they have not already done so and, if necessary, ensure that it is transposed into existing legislation and implemented;
11.2. set up a Europe-wide programme to establish a "pan-European system of national socio-natural landscapes as a genuine mechanism for sustainable development";
11.3. set up a pan-European international landscape centre;
11.4. ask the governments of member states to use all the financial, scientific and technical resources at their disposal to preserve the cultural and natural landscape and ensure that it is provided for in national and European sustainable development programmes;
11.5. ask member states to make due provision in their regional/spatial planning policies for landscape measures, prudent management of urban ecosystems, effective rural development schemes, the preservation of particularly vulnerable landscapes, particularly in mountain and coastal regions and on islands, and the development of transfrontier co-operation;
11.6. instruct the European Conference of Ministers Responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT), in conjunction with the Committee for the activities of the Council of Europe in the field of biological and landscape diversity and the Committee for cultural heritage to:
11.6.1. organise a pan-European landscape forum or hold an international landscape congress to enable member states to share their experiences in such areas as landscape legislation and give thought to a European landscape policy;
11.6.2. adopt an integrated pan-European system of landscape typology and classification;
11.6.3. prepare model framework legislation on the landscape for use by Council of Europe member states.
B. Explanatory memorandum by Mr Valerij Sudarenkov
Content
Page
I. Conceptual framework for sustainable development and analysis of existing approaches
II. Limitations of existing approaches and scenarios and the need to develop alternative solutions
III. Situation with regard to the conservation and use of landscape potential
a. Russian natural landscape science
b. Cultural landscape as a product of rational economic management
a. The concept of cultural landscape in German geography
b. The concept of cultural landscape in the British tradition
iii. Modern European landscapes
i. European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe
ii. Landscape as a common resource
iii. Legislative basis of landscape policy
iv. General trends in implementing landscape policy
V. Landscape protection and management
i. Cultural landscape management
ii. European experience of landscape planning
iii. Landscape, culture and natural and cultural heritage
vi. Landscape education and awareness
i. Basic terms and definitions used in the European Landscape Convention
ii. Indicators of sustainable development
Appendix 1
Legislation and other regulatory legal instruments on landscape and national landscape policy in Council of Europe member states
I. Conceptual framework for sustainable development and analysis of existing approaches
1. The Declaration of the first UN Environment Conference held in Stockholm in 1972 articulated the notion of the indissoluble link between economic and social development and the environment. These ideas later served as a basis for developing the concept of sustainable development.
2. The term "sustainable development" was popularised through the publication of the 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland ("Our Common Future", also known as the Brundtland Report). The concept was used to study the relationships between individuals, society and nature. The report emphasised that sustainable development policy is intended to achieve harmony between people and between society and nature.
3. International efforts to implement the principles of sustainable development are of paramount importance. This is an extremely topical issue not only for Europe but also for Russia, which is an integral part of Europe.
4. The rest of the world has Europe to thank for Man’s greatest cultural achievements: for developing democracy, for protecting and upholding the highest universal values, first and foremost human rights, for co-ordinating international efforts in the economic, social and humanitarian fields and for advances in science and technology.
5. Russia possesses the largest and most uniquely diverse landscape potential. The preservation and effective use of the Russian landscape potential will, to a large extent, define the future economic growth and quality of life not only of the Russian people but of the European population as a whole.
6. The new global system must be capable of overcoming all the conflicts generated by globalisation, such as the conflict between limited natural resources and the rapid growth in human needs; between developed and developing countries; between worldwide demand for sustainable development and national interests; between present and future generations and between rich and poor.
7. The most important requirement for sustainable development is to achieve a strategic balance between human activity and the ability of the biosphere to regulate itself: only then will human actions cease to produce irreversible changes in nature.
8. In spite of the measures taken, global ecological and, at the same time, social pressures continue to mount. The only solution is to adopt an alternative course, namely sustainable development based on the principles of a radically new, realistic approach to landscape.
II. Limitations of existing approaches and scenarios and the need to develop alternative solutions
9. Among the most common approaches is the utilitarian-resource approach. The main disadvantage of this is a failure to take account of the existing common resource, home to all living creatures, which is the landscape potential of the planet Earth.
10. The lack of a common objective and of an integrated, systemic approach inevitably leads to attention being focused on some partial aspect or other, such as ecology, economics, the social sphere, environmental management, culture, etc. Such a lopsided approach using an arbitrary set of elements and disregarding naturally evolved links will inevitably make for inconsistent managerial decision-making that may in turn produce irreversible conflicts. In the final analysis, this will lead not only to eclecticism when setting development priorities but also to general stalemate.
11. One of the major tragedies of the modern world is the ongoing process of destruction of the very foundations of life - natural landscapes including soil, vegetation, wildlife, aquifers, springs, etc - resulting in acid rain, mudslides, landslides, earth falls and other natural disasters and catastrophic events.
12. Producing almost nothing but waste, the global economy is destroying bio genes at a tremendous rate.
13. The landscape factor, however, is virtually ignored in managerial decision-making. The need for an effective landscape policy has prompted many countries to sign international agreements, introduce special laws and government programmes and to make wider use of landscape maps and suitable methods in economics and administration (landscape agriculture, sustained yield forest management, tourism, landscape planning, landscape architecture, etc.)
14. The Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention and other European agreements are of fundamental importance here. The author of this report firmly believes that the next step must be to recognise the landscape approach as the most effective route to sustainable development.
15. Effective decision-making based on a landscape approach is now seen as a practical way of making the transition to sustainable development.
16. A landscape approach supposes that the anthropogenic load on the biosphere is distributed among various landscape systems. The natural and socionatural landscape then becomes the basis for making management decisions. Every type of landscape requires an appropriate development scenario and a plan of action.
17. This report proposes a concept based on the principles of an integrated, universal landscape approach. The need to employ a landscape approach and to preserve landscape resources is borne out by numerous phenomena. One example of these is large-scale soil degradation due to global economic activity. Almost all arable land and most grazing land are subject to some degree of degradation. Sixty percent of land is adversely affected by economic activity. Even the widespread use of modern environmental protection technologies cannot prevent, and indeed almost always causes, damage to landscape resources and the landscape potential as a whole. As a result, the northern hemisphere alone contains three huge geographical zones of disturbed landscapes, occupying an area of around 20 million sq. km.
18. There are, however, numerous areas where the biosphere is stable. In the northern hemisphere, this is true of vast tracts of Russia: a total of 65 percent of the territory of the Russian Federation - including the North-West and the North, parts of Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia and the Far East – consists of almost undisturbed landscape. Russia’s huge landscape potential obviously makes a major contribution to the stabilisation of the biosphere, which is particularly important for Europe.
19. The natural landscape potential is the basis that offers radically new opportunities for harmonising the way the highly complex process of economic and social development is managed. The natural parameters of such management must be defined by the boundaries of landscapes. In this way, integrated management processes can be developed that will be capable of co-ordinating all aspects of the complex processes in the social, economic, humanitarian and many other fields. This could also help to achieve the main goal, namely a steady improvement in the quality of life of the population, without disturbing the host landscape, through an effective combination of the most valuable traditional environmental management practices and the most efficient life-support techniques.
III. Situation with regard to the conservation and use of landscape potential
a. Russian natural landscape science
20. It may be regarded as a major scientific phenomenon that includes a "natural" branch geared towards the study of undeveloped land. The growth of this branch of science has been driven by the particular geographic features of Russia, with its vast expanses, underpopulation and undisturbed (natural) landscapes.
b. Cultural landscape as a product of rational economic management
21. Cultural landscape is landscape where human activity has so changed the relationship and interaction between natural features and phenomena that it has acquired qualitatively new characteristics relative to its initial, natural state. In cultural landscapes of this type, the social component should be informed by a high degree of environmental awareness.
c. Ecological and resource potential of landscape
22. The potential capacity of any given area can be increased or diminished by human activity. One way to increase it is through effective use of resources. Restoring carrying capacity of the degraded landscape is much more complicated and costly than preventing it from becoming degraded.
a. The concept of cultural landscape in German geography
23. In modern German geography, cultural landscape studies are mainly pursued within the branches of historical, classic and cultural geography. Interdisciplinary studies are mostly confined to two research centres: "Seminar on Historical Geography" (Bonn University) and the cultural geography departments of the Universities of Freiberg, Goettingen and Hamburg.
b. The concept of cultural landscape in the British tradition
24. Landscape is considered to have two dimensions - natural and cultural. The population, residential construction, industrial processes and communications provide the means of interaction between culture and the natural environment. All the elements of the cultural landscape identified in the physical space become available for measurement and study. In these circumstances, the large-scale geographical map becomes an important source of information on the cultural landscape.
c. Cultural landscape in the French tradition
25. In the French tradition, landscape (le paysage) has always attracted the attention of experts working in specialised branches of science (geography, ethnography, history, architecture, and sociology), interdisciplinary sciences, and philosophy as well as in spatial planning, central and local government. Investigations have focused both on the landscape itself and on the interaction between Man and the landscape.
d. Interrelation between landscape planning and landscape
26. Some efforts are being made to implement a landscape approach in spatial planning. The social significance of landscape issues in France was highlighted by the adoption in 1993 of a special law on landscape protection.
27. In the context of the “greening” of environmental management, special attention should be given to landscape design and planning, which are not directly related to classic landscape studies but have important practical applications. Landscape plans should help to identify the environmental quality criteria that are essential for spatial development and construction, and for environmental impact control measures.
28. Council of Europe member states should therefore focus their efforts on urging their governments to sign and ratify the European Landscape Convention at the earliest opportunity and, most importantly, to have regard to it when framing and implementing national landscape policies, developing national landscape economies, including landscape tourism, rehabilitation and sports, and in the field of landscape education and awareness.
iii. Modern European landscapes
29. Over the centuries, European landscapes were formed under the influence of anthropogenic factors and, with time, the impact of economic activity on landscape features has become increasingly noticeable. Many natural processes and structural elements of natural geosystems have changed beyond recognition. Across most of Europe, primeval vegetation has given way to cultivated fields, planted forests, population centres, industrial plants, infrastructure facilities and man-made bodies of water.
30. Technogenic activities are a determining factor in the behaviour of natural geosystems, their quality and appearance. In recent decades, European landscapes have been severely affected by pollutants, including highly toxic substances, in the form of gaseous, liquid and solid emissions from industrial facilities and populated areas. The technogenic pressure on modern European landscapes is reflected in their territorial system of organisation and natural processes.
i. European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe
31. A recurring theme of the Council of Europe’s Landscape Convention is the vital contribution made by landscapes to improving the quality of life of the European population.
32. The European Landscape Convention was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 19 July 2000 and the Convention was opened for signature at the ministerial conference on landscape protection in Florence on 20 October 2000 as part of the Council of Europe campaign "Europe, a common heritage".
33. The Council of Europe’s Committee on Biological and Landscape Diversity and the Cultural Heritage Committee are in charge of monitoring its implementation, with the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) being invited to participate in the work of these two committees.
34. The European Landscape Convention was adopted on the basic principle that landscapes are of particular importance in creating conditions for the transition to sustainable development and that the quality and diversity of landscapes are a common pan-European resource which makes a decisive contribution to the quality of life of people everywhere; that it is a key element of individual and social well-being, a basic component of European natural and cultural heritage reflecting the uniqueness, originality and distinctive features of Europe; that it plays an important public interest role in the cultural, ecological and social fields, including in addressing employment issues, and at the same time serves as a basic resource for the development of various sectors of the economy associated with and dependent upon landscape.
35. Recognition of the concept of landscape in domestic law; establishment and implementation of national landscape policies; establishment of procedures for the participation of the general public, local and regional authorities and other parties in the definition and implementation of landscape policy; integration of landscape in countries’ regional and town planning policies and in their cultural, environmental, agricultural and social and economic policies.
36. Education and awareness-raising; school and university courses and multidisciplinary training programmes dealing with landscape issues; typification and classification of landscapes at national level; and introduction of mechanisms for implementing landscape policy at various levels of government (national, regional and local).
c. European co-operation between potential parties to the Convention
37. Development of programmes and projects in the field of international and transfrontier co-operation on landscape issues; mutual assistance and exchange of information and experience.
38. To date, the European Landscape Convention has been signed by 33 countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom), and ratified and approved by 20 of them (Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and Turkey).
ii. Landscape as a common resource
39. Landscape makes an outstanding contribution to the formation of local cultures and is a basic component of natural and cultural heritage. Landscape also makes a remarkable contribution to the quality of life in urban areas and in the countryside, in industrial areas and in depressed areas, in degraded areas as well as in areas which have a high quality of life, in areas of outstanding beauty as well as in everyday areas.
iii. Legislative basis of landscape policy
40. Information on the state of legislation and other regulatory legal instruments on landscape and national landscape policy is given in details in the table presented in appendix I, which is a summary of the material gathered by the working groups on the implementation of the European Landscape Convention.
41. In Belgium, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland and "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", landscape is the subject of one or more articles of the Constitution. In France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, San Marino, Slovakia, Switzerland, "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and Turkey, landscape is the subject of a specific law. In Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" and Turkey, landscape is dealt with in other, more general laws.
42. It should be noted that in Italy, Switzerland, Malta, Slovakia and "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", landscape is mentioned in the Constitution, as well as forming the subject of specific legislation and other, more general laws.
iv. General trends in implementing landscape policy
43. In European countries, landscape policy is the responsibility of various state authorities and institutions.
44. These regulatory bodies fall into three categories:
Type 1: ministries responsible for education, science and culture (cultural heritage). Countries which have opted for this arrangement include Austria, Belgium (Flemish region) and Italy.
Type 2: ministries which deal with environmental and ecological issues, as found in Northern European countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
Type 3: ministries which deal with environmental and land management, agriculture, etc. (Great Britain, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, etc.)
45. In some countries, such as Hungary, Romania and Poland, one finds combinations of two or three categories. Special mention should be made of France, where landscape issues are dealt with by the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development.
46. In those member countries of the Council of Europe where the principles of landscape policy are put into practice mainly at regional, territorial and local level, implementation is chiefly the responsibility of the corresponding level of government. In France, for instance, this work is carried out by the district administrations (particularly in town planning) and by the départements and regions (within the limits of their competence). In some cases, the regional offices of a parent ministry are responsible for implementing landscape policy. In Slovakia, for example, these functions are performed by the regional bureau of the environmental protection section and by the district bureau of the environment protection department, and at local level - by the independent environment protection service. In some countries, the parent ministries are directly responsible for conducting landscape policy, e.g. the Ministry of the Environment in Lithuania. In many cases, landscape policy is implemented by local authorities at a lower level, e.g. the national and regional parks authorities in Italy.
47. However, special scientific programmes are being conducted in European countries for the purpose of developing and implementing landscape policy principles and methods.
48. Typical examples of national landscape projects:
Austria. The Culture Landscape Programme
Belgium. Two types of projects based on individual study of landscape characteristics for landscape preservation and management: the atlas of relics of traditional landscapes in Flanders and the landscape inventory project
Denmark. Research project on the classification and evaluation of landscapes with a view to developing regional planning guidelines for counties
Finland. A number of specific local projects
France. the national Landscape Atlas (including qualitative assessments, classifications and photo surveys); “Plans, charters and contracts” and a research programme entitled “Social policy and landscape: analysis, comparison and evaluation”
Greece. The dimensions and characteristics of landscapes are assessed within the framework of spatial planning and environmental protection projects
Hungary. A governmental decree on the assessment of environmental impact, a Ministry of the Environment decree on the assessment of impact on cultural heritage
Netherlands. National projects on landscape development, financial support for landscape projects and scientific research programmes
Norway. Inventory of cultural landscapes and registration of categories
Slovenia. Landscape type classification and planning, and landscape diversity preservation projects carried out by the biotechnical faculty of the University
Switzerland. Two programmes: "Swiss Landscape Concept" and "Landscape 2020”
49. The results of the above compilation and analysis thus enable the landscape policies adopted in Council of Europe member states and applicant states to be divided into three main categories: predominantly nature-oriented, culturo-historical and administrative policies.
V. Landscape protection and management
50. Today, a growing number of unique cultural and historical landscapes are being destroyed or drastically transformed for commercial purposes or as a result of conflict.
51. Conservation of natural and historico-cultural landscapes is an important part of pan-European and national landscape policies, something that is highlighted in the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention.
52. Historically, landscape conservation issues have been dealt with in a fairly detailed manner and practically every European country has its own specific national policy, combining the country's historical experience with international practice.
53. One of the most effective landscape conservation methods is to create a system of specially protected areas and landscapes. Recent years have seen the emergence of a growing number of integrated, specially protected areas, cutting across two or more neighbouring states.
54. All European countries follow the basic principles for protecting designated areas of special interest, including as regards nature and landscape protection. Such territories make up 17.9 percent of the total surface area of specially protected zones.
55. The various categories of specially protected areas in a number of European countries are known to be fundamentally different from the internationally accepted classification; for instance, in Great Britain there are such specific categories as "environmentally sensitive areas", "sites of special scientific interest”, etc. Many European countries plan to substantially increase the percentage of protected areas relative to the European average (10 percent). Pan-European programmes and projects are being set up, such as CORINE (EU biotopes project), NATURA 2000 (a European ecological network of special areas of conservation and protection), etc.
56. In the Russian Federation, landscape conservation is most effectively achieved within the UNESCO international biosphere reserves, federal nature reserves and national parks (the network has grown rapidly in Russia over the past 10 to 15 years) and regional and municipal protected areas.
i. Cultural landscape management
57. Approaches to the identification, conservation and regulated use of cultural heritage sites within the system of protected areas differ greatly from one country to another. Of greatest interest are those instances where:
- natural and cultural heritage sites are treated as interrelated and integral entities;
- cultural landscapes are part of the system of cultural values;
- countries have adopted an explicitly territorial approach to conserving historical and cultural heritage.
58. Of particular relevance in this respect is the experience of the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway and Poland, where cultural landscapes play a very significant role in the system of national heritage.
59. In Germany, the main managerial decisions on heritage protection are taken by the Länder (constituent entities of the Federation) and municipal governments.
60. In Norway, the state management of natural and cultural heritage is handled by the Ministry of the Environment, with a special body in charge of Lapp cultural heritage, the Council on Lapp Cultural Monuments. Alongside central government, regional and local government authorities (municipalities) play a major role in managing the country’s cultural assets.
61. In Poland, landscape research and evaluation programmes have been developed with regard to the historical and cultural significance of the landscapes concerned. An evaluation map of cultural landscapes has been drawn and suitable research techniques devised in order to identify and protect landscapes in the context of spatial planning.
62. In the United Kingdom, there are fundamental regional differences in approaches to heritage protection, as reflected in the existing legislative systems of England, Scotland and Wales.
ii. European experience of landscape planning
63. Environmentally-oriented spatial planning exists in many forms in Europe. Landscape planning can be part of various spheres of activity and tends to develop differently in urban and rural areas.
Germany. The country has a long history of landscape planning that began as far back as the early 19th century. Today, Germany is an acknowledged leader in landscape planning and generously shares its experience with other countries.
The United Kingdom. The planning system in the United Kingdom was developed according to a top-down approach. It operates largely on a case-by-case basis.
Netherlands. Spatial planning is dominated by the notion of change and design concepts. Landscape planning in the Netherlands can be divided into three types of planning tools and associated legislation: spatial planning, environmentally-oriented planning and water resource management.
France. Responsibilities are divided between the various administrative and territorial units - the regions, départements and municipalities. One recent trend has been the development of closer partnership relations between these units and central government.
Spain. Landscape planning is, to a large extent, achieved through other instruments. Overall, there has been a shift in emphasis from a purely aesthetic view of landscape to a new understanding of it as a cultural phenomenon and, finally, to environmental landscape concepts.
iii. Landscape, culture and natural and cultural heritage
64. The key role played by landscape in developing culture and preserving the natural and cultural heritage is one of the main provisions of the European Landscape Convention. UNESCO operates a similar policy, as reflected in various documents, from the 1964 recommendations on safeguarding the beauty and character of landscapes and sites, to other documents produced in the context of the World Heritage Convention. Decisions adopted by numerous international conferences and gatherings indicate that historical and cultural or natural monuments cannot be effectively preserved without preserving the character of their surroundings, the "spirit of the site", and the landscape as a whole. One of the most recent examples was the Edinburgh Declaration endorsed by the 10th International Conference of National Trusts held in the UK from 14 to 19 September 2003.
65. Modern-day science and practice offer all the necessary conditions for creating a landscape economy. This term implies the use of sustained yield forest management techniques, widely developed in Scandinavian countries, landscape and contour agriculture, alternative energies, landscape tourism, etc.
66. Experts from the World Tourism Organisation rate Russia’s tourism potential very highly and predict that tourism in Russia will grow at 7 to 8 % per year in the coming years, making the country the European leader in this sector.
b. Sustained yield forest management
67. Only 5.8 percent of enclosed forests in Europe lie within specially protected natural areas (SPNAs). All the remaining forests are used for economical purposes.
68. In densely populated European countries, SPNA forests occupy very limited areas, e.g. 3.4% in Belgium, 4.4% in Denmark, 3.7% in Germany and 2.8% in Sweden. All the remaining forests are used for a variety of purposes.
69. Special attention should be given to the forest landscapes of Russia, the key biogene-producing element in the landscape potential of the world's most heavily forested country. In Russia, more than in any other country in the world, the forestry sector of the national economy, as the source of the most valuable renewable natural resources, is set to become one of the major driving forces of the economy and Russia’s integration into the pan-European process of sustainable economic development based on a landscape approach.
c. Adaptive landscape agriculture
70. The shift to landscape-friendly systems of farming paves the way for environmentally sound and cost-effective use of natural and anthropogenic resources with the aim of producing environmentally sound products.
71. Ecological and landscape analysis of an area makes it possible to achieve an optimum balance between farm and nonfarm lands, with due regard for the diversity and stability of a particular landscape, the geochemical and biophysical processes within it, and to co-ordinate the farming system, agricultural techniques, soil improvement methods and economic specialisation.
72. In western countries, the terms "landscape management", "landscape monitoring", "landscape evaluation" etc. have entered not only the scientific but also the management lexicon.
vi. Landscape education and awareness
73. Education is one of the main themes of the European Landscape Convention, which requires member countries to take special measures in this regard. Landscape awareness is also a very important part of secondary education as it shapes pupils’ basic notions of landscape at an early age. That is why information of this kind is included in the questionnaire on the implementation of landscape policy in Council of Europe member states (produced under the Florence Convention).
74. The European Landscape Convention, as the basic international legal instrument, assigns a leading and decisive role to civil society in pursuing all the major goals and addressing all the major tasks set out in the Convention.
75. The constructive activities of the European Network of National Heritage Organisations, ECOVAST, Europa Nostra, the Union of Landscape Architects and many other organisations are well known at European level. Through their efforts, they already form a kind of pan-European network of territories, capable of hosting some practical pilot models that could assist the transition to sustainable development.
76. The objective of the programme run by the National Trust and the Foundation for the Preservation of the National Landscape is to protect and make effective use of Russia’s landscape potential for the common good, since it ultimately defines the quality of life not only of the Russian people but also of the European population, and the prospects for sustainable development. Such a strategy for transition to sustainable development is based on and contributes to co-operation between the European Union countries and Russia within the framework of the European Landscape Convention adopted by the Council of Europe in 2000, and is fully in keeping with the goals, principles and fundamental provisions of that instrument.
i. Basic terms and definitions used in the European Landscape Convention
77. Landscape: an area that is integral in origin and development, that is perceived as such by the population and whose character is the result of the interaction of natural factors (based on a single geological substructure, relief, climate, soil, vegetation, wildlife, underground and surface waters and combinations thereof); such territory may subsequently be altered by economic or other human activities (anthropogenic factors).
78. Landscape potential: an integrated system of landscapes (natural, socionatural and disturbed) encompassing an entire area at local, regional, national, international or global level.
79. Host landscape: landscape which provides the basis for sustaining and improving the quality of life and activity of the (permanent) local resident population and for their efficient exercise of economic and other types of activity (functions) with a view to improving the quality of life and health and meeting other healthy needs (healthy life style, healthy diet, housing, spiritual and cultural activities, creative activities, personal development, etc).
80. Natural landscape: a landscape that has not been altered by economic or other human activities and that is characterised by a single origin and a combination of certain types of terrain, soil and vegetation, which were all formed under the same climatic conditions.
81. Socio-natural landscape: a landscape that was formed as a result of interaction of natural and anthropogenic factors and which is populated by all categories of people (permanent and seasonal residents, migrants, etc) who engage in economic and/or other activities in this area. Socionatural landscapes are a category of land that is especially important for society in raising living standards and that should, where possible, be brought under a long-term (sustainable) development regime, i.e. national landscape.
82. National socio-natural landscape: a socionatural landscape where stable growth of the local population is achieved without any quality-of-life restrictions, within the limits of the economic capacity of the host landscape (its natural complex), by the following means:
- an ongoing process of familiarisation with the landscape by the local population, based on the accrual of knowledge and skills and their transmission from generation to generation;
- a sound consumption model and healthy life style;
- creation of the appropriate conditions for the development of personal talents and abilities;
- development of interpersonal relations;
- in the case of existing landscapes - selection of traditional practices, historically proven in the landscape in question, and which allow a steady improvement in the quality of life and landscape protection; in the case of newly formed national landscapes - integration of such practices with modern techniques;
- continuous expansion of the economic capacity of the host landscape along these lines;
- stable (sustainable) condition of the host landscape (its natural complex).
83. National socionatural landscapes can form a system in which they function sustainably on the basis of close co-operation and mutual assistance within the local population, effective protection of the natural complex, permanent, stable ties and the exchange of experience, knowledge, information, specialists, products, goods, etc.
84. System of national socionatural landscapes: a system that is formed by the constituent national landscape areas and links between them in the form of tourism, transport and other flows involving information, products, goods and services. In addition to various communications, national socionatural landscapes are interconnected by “green” and “blue” roads, which are the most promising type of communication from the point of view of public health and quality of life.
85. High quality of the host (socio-natural) landscape: state of the landscape which makes it possible to meet the healthy needs of the local population, both present and future.
86. Disturbed landscape: an unpopulated landscape that has been degraded by economic and/or other human activity beyond the limits of its sustainability, making natural rehabilitation of the landscape impossible.
87. Landscape security: protection of the landscape potential and associated vital interests of individuals, society and the state against the possible negative impact of economic and other activities, emergencies and their consequences.
88. Landscape economy: an area of economic activity where high-quality products, goods or services are ensured thanks primarily to the high quality of the landscape in which those products, goods and services (raw materials) are produced. One of the main branches of the landscape economy is landscape tourism.
ii. Indicators of sustainable development
89. The need to develop sustainable development indicators was highlighted in Agenda 21, adopted at the UNCED Conference in Rio in 1992. Chapter 40 of this document ("Information for decision-making) reads as follows: "Indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development systems."
90. A list of 134 indicators of sustainable development was later drawn up at international level (UN).
91. The National Trust plans to develop a host landscape quality indicator.
92. The analysis of the information summarised in this report and based on:
- the main provisions of the European Landscape Convention and their further development;
- the findings of innovative studies on the creation of alternative methods of sustainable development using a landscape approach, conducted over the last 10 years by the Independent Institute of Civil Society of Russia (National Trust);
- the results of the landscape and geo-ecological research conducted by the Faculty of geography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University;
- pooling of the extensive experience (legislative, scientific, educational, etc) acquired by member countries of the Council of Europe and European Union in developing national landscape policy;
- the combined results of over a century’s worth of work by independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in many member countries of the Council of Europe
allows us to draw the following basic conclusions:
i. Given the generally pessimistic outcome of the World Summit in Johannesburg, the European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe is undoubtedly the most constructive of all the existing international conventions and agreements in terms of legislative and practical provisions for the transition to sustainable development. Council of Europe member states should therefore concentrate their efforts on signing, ratifying and implementing this Convention.
ii. As testified by European history and culture and the experience of the European people, and also by recent European achievements in science and politics and the everyday realities of the vast majority of Europeans, the concept of landscape is all-embracing and of the utmost importance for every section of the population. Landscape is the most integrated and common resource for the modern economy. A landscape approach must therefore be at the heart of any effort to address key environmental problems and to preserve the historical, cultural and natural heritage of Europe.
iii. In this connection, a number of European countries have already introduced national landscape legislation. This experience should be comprehensively applied, particularly in eastern and central European countries such as Russia, which possesses outstanding landscape potential yet does not have an integrated national landscape policy.
iv. Sustainable economic development in the countries of Greater Europe and Russia, preserving and increasing the unique natural wealth of Europe, optimal and environmentally sound use of renewable natural resources and of the most valuable natural and cultural heritage sites for the purpose of bringing about a cardinal improvement in the quality of life of the population using a landscape approach may be fully achieved only through the conservation and rational use of the unique landscape resources and potential of Russia and Europe, as the main integrated basis for their long-term sustainable development.
v. In order to achieve this aim, many countries in the European Union have already effectively joined forces, signing and ratifying the CE European Landscape Convention. They are actively framing and implementing national landscape policies or individual strands thereof (legislative, scientific and practical arrangements).
vi. Russian experience and innovation in developing a landscape approach to sustainable development, which forms the basis of this report, should play a key role in this process.
vii. When addressing the major challenge posed by the transition to sustainable development based on a landscape approach, in Europe and indeed worldwide, it is important to proceed from the following basic considerations:
a. Russia is the world’s largest landscape power, possessing the biggest, richest and most uniquely diverse landscape potential, ie land and territories (natural and stable socionatural landscapes) which are of paramount importance in terms of biogenic productivity and the unique diversity and wealth of landscape resources, not only for Russia itself but also for Europe as a whole.
b. At the same time, Russia has the world's biggest territories populated by indigenous and minority peoples who employ traditional methods of environmental management and who are an invaluable source of information in this respect. These are essentially pockets of traditional cultures which form an integral whole with the host landscape. This experience is particularly valuable when it comes to making the transition to sustainable development.
c. That is why one of the main strands of the pan-European strategy and policy for long-term sustainable development must be effective, comprehensive and well-balanced use of the phenomenon that is Russia’s landscape potential and resources.
viii. In addition to mineral and hydrocarbon sources, Russia’s landscapes are also a crucial source of renewable natural reserves and biogenes, ensuring the survival, life support and economic development not only of Russia but of all European countries. These processes include the production of oxygen and fresh water, carbon dioxide consumption, etc. In Russia, natural landscapes occupy around two thirds of the surface area whereas in the rest of Europe, they occupy around 10 percent. The quality of Russia’s landscape potential is a major factor, therefore, in the stability of biospheric processes, economic development and improvements in the quality of life and health of the European population.
ix. Damage caused by the destruction of natural landscapes (soil, vegetation, wildlife, aquifers, springs, etc) that form the main basis of life on Earth is generally greater than that caused to the environment by technogenic (anthropogenic) pollution through harmful and especially hazardous emissions from industrial plants and businesses.
x. Producing huge and ever growing amounts of hazardous and especially hazardous industrial and domestic waste, the extensively developing global economy is destroying natural landscapes at an ever-increasing rate and on an ever-increasing scale. Natural landscapes, however, are the main natural source of biogenes that are essential for preserving and reproducing life on Earth and for the well-being and development of human civilisation.
xi. It is particularly important in this context to make the widest possible use of the unique experience acquired by the advanced countries of western, central, eastern and northern Europe in protecting, planning and managing landscapes, creating stable centres of population, in environmental education and in preserving the natural and cultural heritage.
xii. Given the decisive role that the preservation and rational use of Russian and European landscape potential can play in today’s world, the recommendations and proposals outlined in this report should be used, as far as possible, to optimise both the pan-European and the global transition to sustainable development.
xiii. The contribution of European society and national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the protection, planning and management of the most valuable natural and cultural landscapes cannot be understated. Many countries, including the developed countries of Europe, have many years’ experience of creating legislative protection and support for their activities. This experience should be shared with, and used creatively in, other countries, including Russia, whose unique landscape potential cannot be effectively protected and sustainably developed solely through the efforts of the government, still less the business community.
93. The Rapporteur concludes that the challenge of ensuring the conservation and effective use of the landscape potential of Russia and Europe as a whole, through the creation of a pan-European system of national (sustainable) socionatural landscapes as a genuine mechanism for sustainable development, can be addressed by:
- speeding up the signature and ratification of the European Landscape Convention;
- hastening the introduction of national landscape legislation;
- providing governmental assistance, including legislative support, to national NGOs; hastening the formation of non-governmental systems of specially protected areas alongside existing governmental systems for the purpose of focusing public attention (primarily of NGOs) on landscape issues;
- giving a high level of attention to any organisational problems that might hinder constructive implementation of the conclusions and proposals outlined in the report, in particular those concerning:
• the development and execution of the International Pan-European Programme and the Europroject, with the priority Russian component, "Creating a pan-European system of national (sustainable) socionatural landscapes as an effective mechanism for sustainable development";
• concerning the setting-up in Russia (as the author of the project and the major landscape power) of the International Landscape Centre, under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the European Union, for co-ordinating activities conducted under the Europroject and the programme as a whole;
• and concerning the introduction in Russia of landscape legislation, a crucially important step given that Russia is Europe's biggest producer of biogenes
94. It is thus important to introduce a package of priority measures, as outlined in the draft recommendation.
Legislation and other regulatory legal instruments on landscape and national landscape policy in Council of Europe member states
Country |
Legal definition of the term "landscape" |
Landscape as the subject of one or more articles of the Constitution |
Landscape as the subject of a specific law |
Landscape as the subject of one or more provisions of more general laws |
Landscape as the subject of regional laws |
Andorra |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Armenia |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Austria |
+ |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
Belgium |
+ |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
Croatia |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Cyprus |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Denmark |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Finland |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
France |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Greece |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Hungary |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Italy |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Latvia |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Lithuania |
+ |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Malta |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Netherlands |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Norway |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Poland |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Portugal |
+ |
+ |
- |
+ |
- |
Romania |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
San Marino |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
- |
Slovakia |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Slovenia |
+ |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Sweden |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
Switzerland |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
- |
Turkey |
- |
- |
+ |
+ |
+ |
United Kingdom |
- |
- |
- |
+ |
- |
* * *
Reporting committee: Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs
Reference to committee: Doc. 10352, Reference no. 3030 of 23 November 2004
Draft recommendation adopted unanimously by the committee on 12 April 2006
Members of the Committee: Mr Walter Schmied (Chairman), Mr Alan Meale (1e Vice-Chairman) (alternate: Mr Paul Flynn), Mr Renzo Gubert (2e Vice-Chairman), Ms Elsa Papadimitriou (3e Vice-Chairperson), Mrs Marisa Abbondanzieri, Mr Ruhi Açikgöz, Mr Toomas Alatalu, Mr Gerolf Annemans, Mr Ivo Banac, Mr Rony Bargetze, Mr Jean-Marie Bockel, Mrs Pikria Chikhradze, Mr Valeriu Cosarciuc, Mr Osman Coşkunoğlu, Mr Alain Cousin, Mr Miklós Csapody, , Mr Taulant Dedja, Mr Hubert Deittert, Mr Tomasz Dudziński (alternate: Mr Edward Maniura), Mr Adri Duivesteijn (alternate: Mr Leo Platvoet), Mr Bill Etherington, Mrs Catherine Fautrier, Mr Adolfo Fernández Aguilar, Mr Christopher Fraser (alternate: Mr Nigel Evans), Mr György Frunda, Ms Eva Garcia Pastor, Mr Fausto Giovanelli, Mrs Maja Gojkoviċ, Mr Peter Götz, Mr Vladimir Grachev, Ms Aynur Guliyeva, Mr Kristiin Gunnarsson, Mr Poul Henrik Hedeboe, Mr Mykhailo Hladiy, Mr Anders G. Högmark, Mr Rafael Huseynov (alternate: Mr Abdullayev), Mr Stanislaw Huskowski, Mr Jean Huss, Mr Ilie Ilaşcu, Mr Mustafa IIicali, Mrs Fatme Ilyaz, Mr Ivan Ivanov, Mr Bjřrn Jacobsen, Mr Jaroslav Jaduš, Mr Gediminas Jakavonis, Mrs Danuta Jazłowiecka, Mr Ivan Kaleziċ, Mrs Liana Kanelli (alternate: Mr Athanasios Alevras), Mr Karen Karapetyan, Mr Orest Klympush, Mr Victor Kolesnikov, Mr Zoran Krstevski, Mr Miloš Kužvart, Mr Ewald Lindinger, Mr Jaroslav Lobkowicz, Mr François Loncle, Mr.Theo Maissen (alternate: Mr John Dupraz), Mr Giovanni Mauro (alternate: Mr Pasquale Nessa), Mrs Maria Manuela de Melo, Mr José Mendes Bota, Mr Gilbert Meyer (alternate: Mr Daniel Goulet), Mr Goran Milojeviċ, Mr Vladimir Mokry (alternate: Mrs Svetlana Smirnova), Mrs Carina Ohlsson, Mr Pieter Omtzigt, Mr Cezar Florin Preda, Mr Jakob Presečnik, Mr Lluís Maria de Puig, Mr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando (alternate: Mr Joseph Falzon), Mr Maurizio Rattini, Mr Herman Scheer, Mr Marinos Sizopoulos, Mr Rainder Steenblock, Mr Gŕbor Szalay, Mr Nikolay Tulaev, Mr Ińaki Txueka, Mr Vagif Vakilov, Mr Geert Versnick, Mr Rudolf Vis, Mr Klaus Wittauer, Mr G.V. Wright, Mr Kostyantyn Zhevago
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in bold.
Secretariat to the Committee: Mr Sixto, Mr Torcătoriu and Mrs Trévisan