The European Landscape Convention

The European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe promotes the protection, management and planning of the landscapes and organises international co-operation on landscape issues.

Preamble of the European Landscape Convention

Drawn by Alberto Floridi

“The landscape … has an important public interest role in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social fields, and constitutes a resource favourable to economic activity and whose protection, management and planning can contribute to job creation; …to the formation of local cultures and… is a basic component of the European natural and cultural heritage, contributing to human wellbeing…;is an important part of the quality of life for people everywhere: in urban areas and in the countryside, in degraded areas as well as in areas of high quality, in areas recognised as being of outstanding beauty as well as everyday areas;… is a key element of individual and social well-being and…its protection, management and planning entail rights and responsibilities for everyone.

Adopted in Strasbourg by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 19 July 2000, the European Landscape Convention was opened for signature by the Organisation’s member states in Florence on 20 October of that year. As the first international treaty devoted exclusively to all aspects of landscape, it addresses the Council of Europe’s key challenges in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Council of Europe member states signatory to the Convention have declared themselves “concerned to achieve sustainable development based on a balanced and harmonious relationship between social needs, economic activity and the environment”. The Convention is therefore the first international treaty devoted to sustainable development, with the cultural dimension a particularly relevant factor.

You can find the text of the convention here.

And more information here.