The Implementation of the European Landscape Convention and Public Participation

Abstract

The European Landscape Convention adopted in 2000 is only now beginning to attract attention from scholars and public institutions. It is the first international act adopted by a European institution with the aim of promoting the protection, management and planning of the European landscape. The novelty of the Convention is that it offers a multifaceted perspective of landscape. Nonetheless the absence of specific rules to be applied risks hindering the implementation and enforcement of the Convention. Therefore, it appears necessary to invoke the aid of international law notably the prescriptions of the Aarhus Convention and European legal rules enshrined in the EC environmental directives for European Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment.