Mrs Krisztina KINCSES, National Representative of the European Landscape Convention, Hungary 

Ministry of Agriculture,

H-1055 Budapest, Kossuth Lajos tér 11.

E-mail: [email protected]

Workshop 3 - Legal and financial instruments

According to the European Landscape Convention each Party undertakes:

-        to recognise landscapes in law;

-        to establish and implement landscape policies;

-        to establish procedures for the participation;

-        to integrate landscape into any policies with possible direct or indirect impact on landscape;

-        to increase awareness;

-        to promote training for specialists;

-        to promote multidisciplinary training programmes in landscape policy;

-        to promote school and university courses;

-        to identify its own landscapes, analyse their characteristics;

-        to take note of changes;

-        to assess the landscapes;

-        to define landscape quality objectives for the landscapes.

As a frame, the Convention gives the opportunity to Parties to align implementation to their specifics: according to their own division of powers, in conformity with their constitutional principles and administrative arrangements.

Landscape specialists very often recognize that legislative regulation is not enough to achieve landscape quality objectives, financial motivation is also important. Each Party should find their own legal and financial instruments.

We can do a lot for the quality of life through landscape projects. But it is not enough thinking in projects. There is a need for being the landscape approach part of all financial instruments and allocations. In case of all grants, supports, subsidies the effect on landscape and the changes of landscape should be analysed.

Most likely there are a lot of subsidies in all over Europe should be reviewed in this respect because appropriate targeting of financial support is a key element of long term sustainable land use.