The European Landscape Convention goes east, beyond Europe

Artemis Yiordamli
Director of the Laona Foundation of the Conservation and Regeneration of the Cypriot Countryside.

In 1949 George Orwell published his futuristic book 1984, in which he predicted that the elite of society would rule the world with teams of unquestioning workers. He asserted that if you want to stop a society from thinking in a certain way, you should remove any word that describes a particular concept from its language.

[ READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE ]

Landscape and Business Seminar

The International Seminar on Landscape, the Economy and Business will be held on the 26th and 27th of November in the Maritime Museum of Barcelona. The event is being organised by the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia with the financial support of Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATLL) and the participation of the Barcelona Provincial Council. The potential for competition and attractive business and entrepreneurial opportunities held by the landscape are increasingly evident, where the latter has not been trivialised or lost its identity. And this is as true for the conventional economy as it is for alternative economic sectors. Members of both these areas will be attending this international seminar, which will take the opportunity to compare diverse European experiences in this field, while looking into the enormous possibilities offered by public and private cooperation and patronage in this sector. The programme is available here.

A New Book on the Landscape and the Local Level

The growing interest of the municipalities in the landscape has encouraged the Landscape Observatory, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment of the Andorran Government, to publish Landscape Planning at a Local Level in Europe. The book is published in both Catalan and English, and provides details on the main tools and experiences used in landscape planning at a local level that currently exist in Europe, so as to facilitate an analysis of their links to local planning. The document should therefore be considered as a tool, placed at the disposal of the local sector, to source references, ideas, and concepts that are applicable or adaptable to each case. The book is the second in the "Documents" collection.

The Landscapes of Catalonia in El Temps

Issue 1,623 of the weekly publication El Temps is the first of some twenty editions that will be including a "Landscapes of Catalonia" section, which seeks to divulge the wealth and variety of the region's landscapes. The project has been made possible thanks to cooperation between the Landscape Observatory, the Department of Territory and Sustainability and the magazine's publishers. The articles will cover a selection of Catalonia's 135 landscapes, describing their values and the best standpoints from which to analyse them, while using information from the Landscape Catalogues of Catalonia (created by the Observatory). A section will also be available that explains initiatives relating to landscape management in both Catalonia and Europe. More information is available here.

The 135 Landscapes of Catalonia on Instamaps

The map of the landscapes of Catalonia can now be consulted on Instamps, the new tool developed by the Cartographic and Geological Institute of Catalonia (ICGC). This is an open platform that allows maps to be created and shared online. The map of the 135 landscapes on Instamaps provides a simple way to overlay these units onto the ICGC's topographical maps and orthophotos, which increases the potential use of the landscape map in planning and management policies, in research or in raising awareness, among other areas. 

The Videos from the Seminar on the Landscape and Common Assets on the Observatory Website

On the 10th of April, Barcelona's Ateneu Popular de 9 Barris was the location of the Seminar on the Landscape and Common Assets. The event, which was recorded on video, included four talks, with their subsequent debates, from Ugo Mattei, Marina Garcés, Raül Romeva and David Bravo. The videos can be seen on the Observatory's website. 

The Successful End of the 16th Meeting of Workshops for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Andorra

On the 30th of September and the 1st and 2nd of October, the 16th Meeting of Workshops for the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention, which was organised by the Council of Europe and the Andorran Government, was held in the city of Andorra la Vella, with the participation of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia. This year's workshop was entitled "Landscapes and Trans frontier Cooperation: Landscape knows no Border", which focused on cooperation between actors in the management of cross-border landscape issues. The meeting was a marked success, with over 185 participants. The Council of Europe will shortly be publishing the talks given at the meeting.

Joan Nogué, the President of the 'Making Landscape' award

Joan Nogué, the Director of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia has been appointed as the President of the Awards Panel for the "Making Landscape"(Fare Paesaggio) award. This initiative of the Landscape Observatory of Trentino, an autonomous region in northern Italy, also known as South Tyrol, consists three sections: landscape planning and management initiatives, landscape interventions and landscaping and restoration projects, and finally, awareness-raising, communication and participation strategies.

Work to recover the Lost Wetlands of La Pletera are about to begin

Work on the de-urbanisation and the restoration of the coastal systems of La Pletara in the town of l'Estartit will begin in early October. The initiative is part of the Life Pletera (2014-2018) project, which has been promoted by Torroella de Montgrí Town Council. The project seeks to restore a series of lakes that were lost in 1986 with the construction, on the seafront, of a promenade and the planned construction of six blocks of flats, only one of which was completed. This is a ground-breaking initiative with respect to renaturation and restoration activities in the natural areas of Europe.

The Observatory's Website now includes a Gallery of Images by Albert Carreras and Lorena Lozano

The home page of the Landscape Observatory's website recently included a gallery of images by the photographer Albert Carreras, with photos from the Conca de Barberà area, which form part of the artistic project "A Bilateral Landscape", which began in 2014; and the photographer Lorena Lozano. Since its creation, the Landscape Observatory has supported the use of photography as a tool for providing information, communication and promoting awareness at the service of landscape policies. 

Pierre Sèche des Pyrénées Catalanes. Découvrir et bâtir

Technical paper on dry stone constructions and their relationship to the landscape by the Regional Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees. May 2014.

Common Goods from a Landscape Perspective (I Quaderni di Careggi. Núm. 6)

Publication of the results of the seminar 6th UNISCAPE Careggi Seminar on Common Goods from a Landscape Perspective (June 2014, Florence).

Playing the space

Numerous artists, architects, musicians, dancers and researchers explore the environment and urban locations composing and reworking their rhythms and resonance. This artistic work begins with the daily experience of a trip, a place or a walk, immersed in the common situation of pedestrians and the public.

» Events from November to December