abstract
| - The European Landscape Convention, (ELC), an international treaty, was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 19 July 2000 and was opened for signatures on 20 October 2000. The Convention entered into force on 1 March 2004. To date (February 2006), 20 nations have ratified this treaty and a further 12 have signed it but have yet to ratify it. The ELC defines landscape as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors’. Landscapes have important cultural, ecological, environmental and social dimensions and are a key element of achieving sustainable development. The ELC should ensure the importance of landscapes, whether rural or urban, built or natural are recognised, understood and integrated into policy and decision-making. The convention aims 'to promote landscape protection, management and planning' and commits the signatories to:
* integrate landscape into land use planning;
* involve the public in landscape issues;
* make national landscape laws and policies;
* develop the raising of awareness, education and assessment of landscapes, including urban and peri-urban places; and,
* co-operate at a European level.
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