5th Council of Europe Conference on "The European Landscape Convention"

Speech by Gaye Doganoglu, President of the Committee on Sustainable Development - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 30 March 2009

Mr Chairman,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for me to address this Conference which marks the fifth anniversary since the entry into force of the European Landscape Convention. It is a particular honour because the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe was at the origin of this pivotal European treaty, the first of its kind, dedicated to European landscapes. This is not surprising. The Congress has always worked at the level closest to the citizen and is well-placed to respond to the growing clamour from the general public to better protect their landscape and environment, to have a real say in how their surroundings are shaped and managed. We strongly believe that preserving our environment is essential because it is an intrinsic part of our culture and our history.

Five years may not be a long time in historical and political terms, but it is certainly time enough for the guiding principles set out in this Convention to take root in European soil, for them to be translated into specific commitments and steps made by the Contracting Parties, time enough to get the various stakeholders involved in landscape protection, management and planning.

This fifth Conference is an excellent occasion to take stock of the progress made over the five years, to look at the challenges encountered and chart out future action for implementing the European Landscape Convention.

There is a pervasive intimate link between landscape and well-being, between landscape and cultural identity, and between landscape and health. Landscapes play an important role in people’s daily relation to their environment, whether they live in a rural or urban setting. This is why the Congress is convinced that landscape preservation, protection and management are an integral part of sustainable development, a prerequisite for improving the quality of life of our communities.

Sustainable development today is crucial for our citizens, especially in the light of the consequences of uncontrolled global economic development that threaten the environment, the onset of climate change, the depletion and even destruction of our natural resources, and the ever more serious effects of pollution on human health. Against this background, sustainability comes as a form of controlled development that will establish the basis for sustainable growth and ensure our citizens a good quality of life, employment and a reasonable future for their children.

Yet, we cannot ensure such sustainability without first reversing today’s widespread degradation of our natural environment and of Europe’s landscape and reducing the risk to the biodiversity due to the impact of pollution, economic activity, urban sprawl, and poor urban, regional and national planning.

The European Landscape Convention is a crucial tool in helping all levels of governance towards sustainable development policies which, in turn, should be geared towards improving the environmental well-being of our citizens and our communities – not only in the sense of “natural environment” and environmental protection, but as an integral part of our action to create a new urban and rural environment – an environment which would balance economic development and ecological concerns and which would be citizen-oriented, cohesive, sustainable and knowledge-driven.

The Congress’ efforts today are focused on building this healthy, sustainable environment which should be considered as a fundamental human right and an integral part of local democracy. The European Landscape Convention is one of the instruments to achieve this goal.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

One of the Convention’s features is the key role it assigns to local and regional authorities in landscape protection, management, development and enhancement.  Similarly, the importance of landscape and the Convention are reflected in the work of the Congress and its Committee on Sustainable Development: its integrated approaches to the environment, its emphasis on sustainable land use and its quest to balance the demands of the city and rural areas are just some examples.

It is reflected in the European Urban Charter II: Manifesto for a new urbanity, adopted by the Congress in May 2008, which sets out principles for modern urban governance and living. We call on all actors involved to implement the principles of ethical governance, sustainable development and greater solidarity in their public policies, aimed at building a  sustainable and environmentally friendly city, developing urban ecology, reducing the ecological footprint of our towns and cities, preserving natural resources and biodiversity, and saving energy. We advocate a denser and more compact city, a city which gives better access for all to public facilities and services. In this context, landscape in the city is indeed a key point for urban planning and development, in our effort to reconcile heritage and modernity, industrial and residential, work and recreation.

The European Landscape Convention defines landscape as “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors”.  When planning their cities or regions, local and regional authorities must look at key areas which can be influenced. We immediately think of employment, mobility, air quality, climate change but only sometimes health. 

Urban planning cannot deliver healthy living by itself, but it can help remove the barriers to better health and well-being. For us in the Congress, it is evident that a healthy urban and spatial planning means planning for the people. We promote the idea that the city is much more than just buildings, streets and open spaces, but a living, breathing organism, the health of which is closely linked to that of its citizens.

To us, healthy urban planning focuses on the positive impact that planning can have on human health, well-being and quality of life. The landscape is an integral part of the policies to be implemented in this respect. Planning guided solely by short-term economic imperatives will ultimately fail to deliver a healthy environment for the people and will be costly to remedy. We should bear this in mind especially today in the face of pressures created by the international financial and economic crises.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The importance of landscape is also reflected in our ongoing work on climate change which is currently focused on the ways coastal towns and cities will adapt in the face of worrying rising sea levels. Rising sea levels is one of the most dramatic consequences of global warming and will have a drastic impact on landscapes if left unattended. This issue will be the subject of Congress recommendations to respond to the challenge.

Landscape issues are also part of our continuing work on territorial cohesion which will focus this year on intra-regional transport and mountain regions.

Last but not least, the impact of local and regional public action and innovative projects on landscape will be examined and analysed in a report to be adopted by the Congress in 2011. This report will be part of our contribution to the 10th anniversary of the European Landscape Convention.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Congress is convinced that today’s ecological crisis is the result of poor governance and that solutions can be found through greater cooperation, exchange and sharing of responsibilities between all levels of governance. The Landscape Convention offers a platform for such cooperation on this one particular but very important aspect.

For the Congress, the main challenge is how to secure a progressive change in our current non-sustainable forms of consumption and production, and how to alter the sectorial approach to the framing and implementing of our policies. Local and regional authorities have been showing an example with innovative approaches in many areas, including in implementing the Landscape Convention.

Many of them have taken the lead on landscape quality objectives and policies to protect, manage and plan landscape evolution. They have established landscape observatories and a participatory approach to achieve the main objectives which are to avoid the anarchic consumption of space and soil while at the same time preserving regional identity and enhancing the assets of the region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, I would like to stress that the Congress is delighted to be able to participate in implementing the European Landscape Convention, in continuing to ensure that the vision of the Convention becomes ever more salient in our daily environment. Local and regional authorities are increasingly involved in promoting the ideas, values and processes advanced by the Convention, and the Committee on Sustainable Development will continue its work to build upon this local and regional input, by looking at innovative local and regional public actions which include the landscape dimension.

Thank you.