Back Landscape quality is good for health: experts meet to finalise a new report and propose recommendations based on the Council of Europe Landscape Convention

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Photo credit: Shutterstock

On 9 September 2024, the Secretariat of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention organised an online working group meeting of experts to review the preliminary draft Recommendation and the draft report on Landscape and Health.

The draft Committee of Ministers (CM) Recommendation and the accompanying report are based on directives from the Council of Europe’s Committee for Culture, Heritage, and Landscape (CDCPP), which mandated the preparation of a Recommendation addressed to member states. Initial elements for this recommendation were prepared in 2023 by Gilles Rudaz, President of the Conference on the Council of Europe Landscape Convention, in collaboration with Tijo Kallumkal of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (OFEV).

Mr. Michael Oldham, an international expert on landscape, chaired the meeting while Mr. Gilles Rudaz provided an overview of the key aspects of the documents under discussion. The online meeting brought together 14 participants from 9 member states, representing national authorities, non-governmental organisations and academia. This diverse group provided a multidisciplinary perspective, offering expert insights and comments to help refine the draft CM Recommendation and report.

The working group underlined the following threefold conviction:

  • Landscape quality contributes to the well-being and health, both physical and mental;
  • The planet's triple crisis of pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity has a negative impact on landscape quality;
  • the degradation, impoverishment and standardisation of the landscape are detrimental to the well-being and health of people.

Following the working group's review, preliminary draft Recommendation and the draft report will be presented for approval at the 13th session of the CDCPP in Strasbourg, scheduled on 19-21 November 2024. Once approved by the CDCPP, the documents will be communicated to the Committee of Ministers, with a view to the adoption of the Recommendation and transmission to the member States of the Council of Europe.

ONLINE 9 September 2024
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