This workshop took place at a particularly important moment, as landscapes across Europe are facing unprecedented pressures arising from climate change, biodiversity loss, and increasing stress on natural resources, especially water.

Ribeira Sacra proved to be an especially fitting host. This remarkable territory illustrates many of the challenges discussed during the workshop: a landscape shaped by the relationship between people and water, exposed to climate pressures, and requiring coordinated action at local, regional, national and international levels.

The Council of Europe Landscape Convention occupies a unique place within the international framework of environmental and heritage instruments. To this day, it remains the only legally binding international treaty devoted entirely to landscape in all its dimensions — both ordinary and outstanding — grounded in the principles of human rights and democratic participation.

The Convention is not merely a technical instrument. It represents a framework of values connecting people, territory, democracy and quality of life. For this reason, the Convention should have a stronger presence in international discussions on climate, biodiversity and sustainable development, including within global environmental processes.

The workshop highlighted the growing importance of water landscapes and the opportunities for synergies and cooperation, notably with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The complementarities between these instruments are evident, and the discussions initiated in Ribeira Sacra are expected to lead to concrete forms of cooperation.

Discussions on water landscapes, climate resilience, public participation and cooperation among international conventions underscored the need for tangible outcomes, operational recommendations and strengthened institutional partnerships.

Conclusions of the Workshop

Participants concluded the workshop:

• Recalling the importance of the Florence Declaration on the Council of Europe Landscape Convention (2025), adopted last year, which provides a roadmap for strengthening commitment and cooperation on landscape matters;
• Recalling the significance of the Council of Europe Strategy on Environment (2025), in particular Objective 5, which places landscape at the centre of environmental governance;
• Calling on the Steering Committee on Environment (CDENV), responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of the Strategy, to give due attention to landscape-related issues;
• Underlining that landscape constitutes a vector for multidisciplinary cooperation, bringing together environmental, cultural, spatial planning and educational dimensions;
• Recognising that water landscapes are among the territories most vulnerable to the triple planetary crisis, while also representing powerful resources for resilience and mitigation;
• Stressing the urgency of integrated approaches linking landscape management, climate adaptation and water governance, including through cross-border cooperation, democratic participation and interdisciplinary research;
• Encouraging States Parties to place water landscapes at the centre of their climate adaptation agendas, in line with the Florence Declaration and relevant recommendations of the Committee of Ministers;
• Encouraging States — both member and non-member States of the Council of Europe — that have not yet done so to become Parties to the Landscape Convention, in line with the Florence Declaration;
• Underlining the essential role of parliamentarians and local and regional authorities in promoting and protecting landscape and in raising awareness of its importance;
• Encouraging partnerships to promote the Landscape Convention, in line with the Florence Declaration and the Council of Europe Strategy on Environment, while welcoming in particular strengthened cooperation with the Ramsar Convention and with civil society;
• Expressing gratitude to the Spanish authorities and the Xunta de Galicia for organising and hosting this 27th Workshop and for their generous hospitality.

These conclusions send an important signal that will continue to be promoted through the relevant institutional channels and forwarded to the competent bodies and institutions, including the CDENV, the Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

The Landscape Convention was founded on a simple yet powerful conviction: landscape is a shared responsibility, and its quality directly shapes people’s quality of life.

That conviction is even more relevant today. The climate crisis does not diminish the importance of landscape — it reinforces it. As highlighted throughout the workshop, Europe is warming faster than any other region in the world, and the continent therefore bears a particular responsibility in addressing climate change and promoting resilient, sustainable and inclusive landscapes for future generations.