Meeting organised by the Council of Europe, Spatial Planning and Landscape Division, in co-operation with the Ministry of Environment of Spain, the Secretariat for Territory and Biodiversity, the Department of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia and the City of Girona.

Introduction

The European Landscape Convention was adopted in Florence (Italy) on 20 October 2000 and came into force on 1 March 2004, with the aim of promoting European landscape protection, management and planning, and organising European co-operation in this area.  The Convention is the first international treaty to be exclusively concerned with all aspects of European landscape.  It applies to the entire territory of the Parties and covers natural, rural, urban and peri-urban areas.  It concerns landscapes that might be considered outstanding as well as everyday or degraded landscapes.

The Convention represents an important contribution to the implementation of the Council of Europe’s objectives, namely to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law and to seek common solutions to the main problems facing European society today.  By taking into account landscape, cultural and natural values, the Council of Europe seeks to protect Europeans’ quality of life and well-being.

As at 25 September 2006, 25 States had ratified the Convention: Armenia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, Turkey, Ukraine.
8 States had signed but not ratified it: Azerbaijan, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

Organisers

The Council of Europe wishes to thank the following organisers for their co-operation and support in hosting the meeting of the Workshops and related events: the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia and the City of Girona. The meeting has also supported by the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment.

Purpose of the Workshops

Organised on a regular basis since 2002, the meetings of the Workshops for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention take a detailed look at various practical aspects of the Convention. A genuine forum for sharing practice and ideas, these meetings are also an opportunity to present new concepts and achievements in relation to the European Landscape Convention. Special emphasis is given to the experiences of the state hosting the meeting.

Four meetings of the Workshops for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention have been held so far: on 23 and 24 May 2002 and on 27 and 28 November 2003 in Strasbourg on 16 and 17 June 2005 in Cork (Ireland) and on 11 and 12 May 2006, in Ljubljana (Slovénia) on the theme “Landscape and society”.

The aim of the Girona Workshops is to:

– examine experience of implementing the provisions of Article 6, C, D and E of the European Landscape Convention with regard to the identification and assessment of landscapes, the landscape quality objectives and the implementation of landscape policies;

– provide an opportunity for sharing experience, by examining both good and bad practice in European landscape protection, management and planning.

Participants

The Workshops are open to government officials, representatives of local and regional authorities, public and private organisations and NGOs working in the field of landscape and sustainable spatial development.

The number of participants is limited to 300 and the working languages are English, French, Spanish and Catalan.

Exhibition to coincide with the Workshops

Various Spanish regions are to present the results of their landscape policy in the form of an exhibition. The Municipality of Girona will display its achievements in the field of landscape in one of the City’s cultural centres and the Generalitat of Catalonia will present the exhibition “País de paisatges” (“Lands of Landscapes”).

Getting there

Girona-Costa Brava airport specialises in low-cost flights. The main airline is Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), but Transavia (www.transavia.com) also operates flights in and out of Girona.  There are scheduled flights to the following destinations:  Karlsruhe-Baden Baden and Dusseldorf (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Paris (France), Eindhoven and Rotterdam (Netherlands), Dublin and Shannon (Ireland), Alghero, Milan, Pisa, Rome, Venice (Italy), Blackpool, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and East Midlands (United Kingdom) and Stockholm (Sweden). The airport is 12 km from Girona City centre and is served by taxis and buses.

Barcelona airport has connections to virtually all the major European cities.  It is one and a half hours’ drive from Girona. Trains leave the airport every 15 minutes for Barcelona City centre (Sants Station) and from there, there are frequent train connections to Girona. See www.renfe.es for departure and arrival times. Eurolines (www.eurolines.es) also operates a direct bus service between Barcelona airport (Terminal B) and Girona City centre.

The Auditori - Palau de Congressos of Girona is 10 minutes’ walk from the train station and bus terminal.

Parking

Parking is available along the Auditori - Palau de Congressos.

Meals

Meals on 28 and 29, including the welcome dinner on 28, will be provided courtesy of the organisations hosting the event.

Web sites

Details of the meeting, including information on booking hotels, are available on the following web site:  www.catpaisatge.net/cep-girona2006

Information can also be found on the web sites of the institutions organising the meeting:
- Council of Europe:www.coe.int/Conventioneuropéennedupaysage
- Ministry of the Environment of Spain: www.mma.es
- Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat of Catalonia: www.gencat.net/ptop
- Landscape Observatory of Catalonia:www.catpaisatge.net

Organisation