Projects

 

2. ELCAI (European Landscape Character Initiative, FP5 Accompanying Measure Project)

Co-ordinated from Alterra, Wageningen, this project examines the usefulness of landscape character assessment to link existing regional/national scale approaches with a large scale European view. This is to support future policy implementation of European landscape conservation measures. The outputs are as follows:

- To provide a systematic review on state-of-the-art approaches in landscape

 character assessments and to analyse the corresponding policy framework for

 landscape conservation

- To generate a core set of landscape indicators for wider policy implementation

- To develop a draft of a European landscape typology displayed in the form of a

 map.

ELCAI takes 14 national approaches across Europe to demonstrate the use of landscape character assessment (i.e. the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Spain).

Practical recommendations for the development of EU landscape conservation and development policy will be generated by regular interaction with regional stakeholder groups throughout the lifetime of the project.
 

ELCAI Policy Brochure: Landscape Character Areas Unfortunately the ELCAI Policy brochure is not available at the moment. All copies have been distributed.

The ELCAI Project Report In the light of increasing landscape changes, many national agencies have developed sophisticated landscape character assessment tools that are scientifically sound, region-specific and stakeholder-oriented – qualities that are considered as key issues for the future implementation of the EU policy and research agenda as well. The contributions compiled in this report are meant to provide the reader with a quick but nevertheless insightful view on the rapidly evolving field of Landscape Character Assessment at the interface between European policy and regional identity. The structural components of the report reflects in principle the technical implementation plan of the ELCAI project as conceptually presented in the Figure 1.2. The sequence of these components, however, has been re-arranged in the following way: - The following Chapter 2 provides an overview on the existing landscape mapping activities and products both at the European and national level, thereby introducing the 51 typologies and maps that form the basis of the following analytical reviews. -  The so-called ‘scientific review’ is being presented in Chapter 3, providing an in-depth analytical comparison between the national and European examples on the basis of specially developed criteria. -  Making use of the findings in the scientific review, Chapter 4 highlights some key geo-spatial aspects when comparing selected landscape typologies in the European as well as in the regional/cross-boundary context. -  Chapter 5 explores the role of landscape character indicators in the light of policy requirements and landscape typologies; -  Chapters 6 presents the results of an inventory among policy and other stakeholders with regard to the role of landscape character assessment; and -  Chapter 7 casts a light on current applications as well as possible future perspectives of landscape character assessment tools. The methodological approach included surveys among the 15 project partners as well as input by as many as 18 external individuals and organisations. With a total of 23 tables, 21 figures, 39 maps and three case study reports from Hungary, Germany and France, the 150 pages, full-colour report is now available. To download click here. To order a hard copy email: Marion.Bogers@wur.nl