COUNCIL OF EUROPE

EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE CONVENTION

SEVENTEENTH COUNCIL OF EUROPE MEETING

OF THE WORKSHOPS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION

OF THE EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE CONVENTION

Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum

of National Selections

4^th Session 2014-2015

Budapest, Hungary 

9-10 June 2016

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Presentation of the 4^th Session of the Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum of National Selections of the European Landscape Convention

Mrs Maguelonne DEJEANT-PONS, Executive Secretary of the European Landscape Convention,Council of Europe

The European Landscape Convention is the first international treaty on sustainable development based on a balanced and harmonious relationship between social needs, economic activity, the environment and culture, to be exclusively concerned with the valorisation of landscapes[1]. Its purpose is to promote landscape protection, management and planning of European landscapes and to organise international co-operation on landscape issues.

The Convention is extremely wide in its scope: it applies to the parties’ entire territory and covers natural, rural, urban and peri-urban areas, including land, inland water and marine areas, and deals with degraded landscapes as well as those that can be considered outstanding. In other words, it recognises the importance of all landscapes, not just those of exceptional beauty, as having a crucial bearing on quality of life and as deserving attention in landscape policies. Many rural and peri-urban areas in particular are undergoing drastic change and deserve greater care from the authorities and the public.

The Convention provides for a “Landscape Award of the Council of Europe”, which recognises policy or measures that local or regional authorities or non-governmental organisations have adopted to protect, manage and plan their landscapes, and that have proven to be lastingly effective. They can thus serve as an example to other territorial authorities in Europe.

On 20 February 2008, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution CM/Res(2008)3 on the rules governing the Landscape Award.  Every two years the Committee of Ministers makes the award, based on the proposal submitted by the committee of experts of the Council of Europe in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention.

These significant achievements show that it is possible to promote the territorial dimension of human rights and democracy by improving the features of the landscapes that surround us and thus people’s living conditions. They are part of the “Landscape Award Alliance of the Council of Europe”, which gathers the achievements presented by the States Parties to the European Landscape Convention on the occasion of the Sessions of the Landscape Award: (http://www.coe.int/en/web/landscape/landscape-award-alliance).

(See also the publication “The Council of Europe Landscape Award Alliance”, European Spatial Planning and Landscape series, 2016, No.103 - http://www.coe.int/en/web/landscape/publications).

The Landscape Award was launched in 2008 and four sessions of the award were organised: in 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2012-2013, and in 2014-2015. The 5^th session (2016-2017) under way:  the Parties to the Convention are invited to present an application to the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe by 30 January 2017. This collection of outstanding best practices will certainly inspire and give rise to similar activities in other areas.

1.         The Landscape Award of the Council of Europe

The Resolution CM/Res (2008)3 on the rules governing the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe states that the award’s purpose is to reward exemplary practical initiatives for the achievement of landscape quality objectives on the territories of parties to the Convention.

Declaring itself convinced that the award is capable of heightening civil society’s awareness of the value of landscapes, their role and changes to them, the Committee of Ministers decided to adopt the rules governing the Landscape Award and the criteria for awarding it. It also invited the Parties to translate the rules into their national languages and promote them, and to encourage media coverage of the award in order to raise public awareness of the importance of landscapes[2].

Under these rules, the award is an honorary distinction which acknowledges a policy or measures implemented by local or regional authorities or their groupings, or particularly remarkable contributions by non-governmental organisations, for sustainable protection, management and/or planning of landscapes. It takes the form of a diploma. Special mentions may also be awarded. The award rewards a process of implementation of the Convention at national or transnational levels resulting in an effective, measurable achievement. It also helps to make people more aware of the importance of landscapes for human development, consolidation of the European identity and the well-being of individuals and society as a whole. Furthermore, it fosters public participation in the decision-making process concerning landscape policies.

The following may be candidates for the award: local or regional authorities and their groupings that have instituted, as part of the landscape policy of a party to this Convention, a policy or measures to protect, manage and/or plan their landscape, which have proved lastingly effective and can thus serve as an example to other local and regional authorities in Europe. Non-governmental organisations which have made particularly outstanding contributions to landscape protection, management or planning may also be candidates. Transfrontier local or regional authorities and groupings of local and regional authorities concerned may be candidates, provided that they jointly manage the landscape in question.

The Award procedure

The procedure consists of three stages:

Submission of candidatures

Each Party may submit one candidature to the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe. The candidature may be the result of a competition held by each Party taking into account the award criteria appended to the rules. The application file, in one of the official languages of the Council of Europe (French or English), must include: a presentation of the candidate (not more than three pages long); the description of a completed project for the protection, management and/or planning of a landscape, which has proved lastingly effective and can serve as an example. Mention must be made of the convention provision concerned. In principle the award is granted every two years. The files presenting candidatures must reach the Secretariat General of the Council of Europe by no later than 31 December of the year preceding the year of award.

Consideration of candidatures

An international jury set up as a subordinate body of the committees of experts referred to in Article 10 of the Convention^[3] determines whether candidatures are admissible. The jury is composed of: one member of the committee of experts responsible for monitoring the Convention, appointed by the committee concerned; one member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, appointed by the Congress; one representative of an international non-governmental organisation, appointed by the Secretary General on the proposal of the Grouping of INGOs enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe; three eminent specialists on landscape, appointed by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The jury proposes the award winner from among the candidates admitted. The jury’s proposals are adopted by an absolute majority in the first round of voting, and by a relative majority in the following round, based on the criteria set out in the appendix to the rules. In the event of equal votes, the president of the jury has the deciding vote. The reasons for the choice must be given. The jury may propose to award one or more special mentions. The committees of experts referred to in Article 10 of the Convention¹ examine the jury’s proposals and forward their proposals concerning the award winner, and, wherever appropriate, special mentions, to the Committee of Ministers.

Granting and presentation of the award and the special mentions

In the light of the proposals by the committees of experts referred to in Article 10 of the Convention, the Committee of Ministers grants the award and any special mentions. The award and the special mentions shall be presented by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe or his/her representative at a public ceremony.

The criteria for granting the Award

The criteria for granting the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe are as follows:

Sustainable territorial development

The completed projects submitted must give tangible form to the protection, management and/or planning of landscapes. This means that the projects must have been completed and open to the public for at least three years when the candidatures were submitted. They must also: be part of a sustainable development policy and be in harmony with the territorial organisation of the area concerned; demonstrate their environmental, social, economic, cultural and aesthetic sustainability; counter or remedy any damage to landscape structures; help enhance and enrich the landscape and develop new qualities.

Exemplary value

The implementation of the policy or measures that have helped to improve the protection, management and/or planning of the landscapes concerned must set an example of good practice for others to follow.

Public participation

The policy or measures implemented with a view to the protection, management and/or planning of the landscapes concerned should involve the active participation of the public, local and regional authorities and other players and should clearly reflect the landscape quality objectives. The public should be able to participate simultaneously in two ways: through dialogue and exchanges between members of society (public meetings, debates, procedures for participation and consultation in the field, for example); through procedures for public participation and involvement in landscape policies implemented by national, regional or local authorities.

Awareness-raising

The Convention provides that each Party undertakes to increase awareness among civil society, private organisations and public authorities of the value of landscapes, their role and changes to them. An assessment will be made of action along these lines taken as part of the project concerned.

2.         The 4^th Session of the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe (2014-2015)

On 16 January 2014, the Parties to the Convention were invited to present, by 30 January 2015,  the applications to the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe, according to the Resolution CM/Res(2008)3 on the rules governing the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe.

Twelve projects were presented by the States’ Parties to the European Landscape Convention to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (http://www.coe.int/en/web/landscape/sessions-of-the-landscape-award)

The International Jury, set up as a subordinate body of the committees of experts referred to in Article 10 of the Convention, was invited to examine the applications and to propose the award and possible special mentions.

The Secretariat of the Council of Europe received 12 application files from the following Parties: Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and Turkey.

The international Jury held a meeting in Strasbourg on 16-17 April 2015in order to examine the applications and propose the award, special mentions and acknowledgements. The Jury was composed of the following members: Mrs Liv Kirstine Mortensen, Chair of the Council of Europe Conference on the European Landscape Convention, Mrs Maria José Festas, Former Chair of the Council of Europe Conference on the European Landscape Convention, Mr  Phaedon Enotiades, Representative of the Steering Committee on Culture, Heritage and Landscape (CDCPP), Mr Mihály Mőcsényi, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Awardee Landscape Architect, Former Rector of the University of Horticulture and Food Industry, Budapest, Hungary, Former President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), and Mrs Anne-Marie Chavanon, President of the Committee on Democracy, Social Cohesion and Global Challenges of the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe.

In order to avoid possible conflict of interest, the Representative of the CDCPP, Mr Phaedon Enotiades did not take part in the analysis and decision related to the project presented by Cyprus. The same attitude was taken by Mr Mihály Möcsényi in relation to the project presented by Hungary.

The proposals of the Jury were presented at the 4^th Plenary Session of the Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape (CDCPP) (Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe, 1-3 June 2015), and then to the Committee of Ministers.[4]

On 14 October 2015, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided, in accordance with the Resolution of the Committee of Ministers CM/Res(2008)3 on the rules governing the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe, and on the recommendations of the jury and the Committee of experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Convention, to:

a.         attribute the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention for the 4^th Session of the Award 2014-2015 to:

“The borderless co-operation of local communities for the landscape heritage of the ‘Fabulous’ Hetés”, achieved by the villages of Bödeháza, Gáborjánháza, Szijártóháza and Zalaszombatfa (Hungary), the villages of Genterovci, Kamovci, Radmožanci, Žitkovci, Mostje, Banuta (Slovenia), the Greenways Methodology Association and the Iron Curtain Trail Association - Project presented by Hungary.

b.         attribute identical special mentions for the 4^th Session of the Landscape Award 2014-2015 of the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention to the following achievements:

–          “The Service Tree, the tree of the Slovácko Region”, achieved by the Municipality of Tvarožná Lhota and NGO International Exchanges (INEX) and the Voluntary Service of the White Carpathians - Project presented by Czech Republic;

–          “Liptovská Teplička: protection of unique types of historical landscape”, achieved by the Village of Liptovská Teplička - Project presented by Slovak Republic;

–          “The Sénia Territory Millennium Olive Tree Landscape”, achieved by the Taula del Sénia Mancomunidad - Project presented by Spain.

c.         acknowledge and praise the great value of the other projects presented for the 4^th Session of 2014-2015 of the Landscape Award of the Council of Europe’s European Landscape Convention, and to recommend making them well-known to the general public for their exemplary value, and as sources of inspiration:

–          “The Enhancement of the natural site and landscape of Hof ter Musschen”, Commission on the Environment of Brussels and its environs asbl - Project presented by Belgium;

–          “The Ecomuseum Blaca Hermitage”, achieved by the Cultural Centre of Brač - Project presented by Croatia;

–          “Development of the historical centre of Agios Athanasios Municipality”, achieved by the Municipality of Agios Athanasios - Project presented by Cyprus;

–          “‘The Bull by the horns’: grazing in nature and landscape management”, achieved by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Central Finland - Project presented by Finland;

–          “The Agricultural Park of Paduli”, achieved by the Open Urban Laboratory - Project presented by Italy;

–          “The town of Kuldīga in the Venta Valley: preserving a unique landscape for future generations”, achieved by the Kuldīga Municipality - Project presented by Latvia;

–          “The New Dutch Waterline”, achieved by the Board of the New Dutch Waterline - Project presented by the Netherlands;

–         “Biodiversity and natural resources management in the Camili Basin”, achieved by the Camili Environmental Protection and Development Association - Project presented by Turkey.

3.         The Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum of National Selections

The goal of this Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum of National Selections[5] is to highlight significant achievements in the Organisation’s member states during the initial sessions of the Council of Europe Landscape Award.

These achievements are presented under three thematic headings which are not exclusive as each combines, in different ways, the three keywords of the European Landscape Convention: landscape “protection”, “management” and “planning”:

Workshop 1: Landscape to be protected: actions to conserve and maintain the significant or characteristic features of a landscape

–          The Service Tree, the tree of the Slovácko Region

            Municipality of Tvarožná Lhota and NGO International Exchanges (INEX) - Voluntary         Service of the White Carpathians, Czech Republic

–          Liptovská Teplička: protection of unique historical landscape types

            Village of Liptovská Teplička, Slovak Republic

–          The Sénia Territory Millennium Olive Tree Landscape

            Taula del Sénia Mancomunidad, Spain

–          The Ecomuseum Blaca Hermitage

            Cultural Centre of Brač, Croatia

Workshop 2: Landscape to be managed: actions, from a perspective of sustainable development, to guide and harmonise changes

–         The “Bull by the horns”: grazing in nature and landscape management

            Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Central Finland,      Finland

–          “The Agricultural Park of Paduli”

            Open Urban Laboratory, Italy

–          “The town of Kuldīga in the Venta Valley: preserving a unique landscape for future             generations”

            Kuldīga Municipality, Latvia

–          “Biodiversity and Natural Resources Management in Camili Basin”

            Camili Environmental Protection and Development Association, Turkey

Workshop 3: Landscapes to be planned: strong forward-looking actions to enhance, restore or create landscapes

–          “The New Dutch Waterline”

            Board of the New Dutch Waterline, the Netherlands

–          “The borderless co-operation of local communities for the landscape heritage of       ‘Fabulous’             Hetés”

            Villages of Bödeháza, Gáborjánháza, Szijártóháza, Zalaszombatfa (Hungary), Villages of    Genterovci, Kamovci, Radmožanci, Žitkovci, Mostje, Banuta (Slovenia), Greenways         Methodology Association, Iron Curtain Trail Association. Project presented by Hungary

–          “The development of the Historical Centre of Agios Athanasios”

            Municipality of Agios Athanasios, Cyprus

–          “The enhancement of the natural site and landscape of Hof ter Musschen”

            Commission of the Environment of Brussels and its environs, Belgium

We welcome this 4^th Council of Europe Landscape Award Forum – also 17^th Council of Europe meeting of the Workshops for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention – designed to raise awareness about all these particularly important issues of the Life and quality of life, which may serve as a source of inspiration to others.

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