A Journey Through the Implementation of the European Landscape Convention

In Europe, landscape cultures share common foundations while also reflecting the diversity of European societies and the landscapes shaped by natural features and human histories over the centuries. Although European countries have developed a wide range of landscape policies, the European Landscape Convention (ELC)-ratified by 44 of the 46 Council of Europe member states-serves as a common reference point and provides a unified framework for landscape policies, promoting shared concepts, approaches, and practices. This text aims to reflect on current and future challenges in the implementation of the ELC. It examines the national landscape policies immediately prior to the adoption of the Convention; analyses the ELC implementation after 2000, especially in the ELC workshops organised by the Council of Europe; and develops various observations and findings in order to provide a stronger foundation for the future of European landscape culture, of which the ELC is the most recent and significant expression.