Policy context
Landscape policy
| Authors: | Eleni Briassoulis, Alexandros Kandelapas |
| Coordinating authors: | Constantinos Kosmas, Ruta Landgrebe, Sandra Nauman |
| Editors: | Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt |
Editor's note 3Jul14: Sources D142-3 and D242-4.
Landscape was recently introduced in the Greek legal framework in the framework of the ratification of the European Landscape Convention (ELC – the Florence Convention) whose object concerns landscapes that might be considered outstanding as well as everyday or degraded landscapes, whether they be natural, rural, urban or peri-urban, land, inland water, and marine. Several aspects of the policy have been present in older policies, such as planning, zoning, and related licensing as well as nature protection. Cultural aspects of the landscape have historically been a major consideration in licensing processes through the active participation of the Archaeological Services (Ministry of Culture).
The general aim of the ELC (Law 3827/2010) is to promote landscape protection, management, and planning, and to organize European co-operation on landscape issues.
The Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change is responsible for the formulation and coordination of landscape policy. A ten-member Landscape Committee, comprising of academics, civil society and high-level civil servants (from directorates of Planning, Environmental Design, and Forests) is the main advisory body to the Ministry, with the main task of policy formulation. The Directorate of Planning (of the same Ministry) is the administrative division with overall responsibility for landscape policy.
The main policy instruments foreseen in the ELC are awareness-raising for the wider public, multidisciplinary training and education, identification and assessment of landscapes in the country’s territory, definition of landscape quality objectives and the introduction of instruments to protect, manage and/or plan the landscape.
The Directorate for Planning is currently in the process of drafting a Proposal for a 5-year National Landscape Strategy and Landscape Action Plan, five legislative proposals for the implementation of the above and of preparing a typology of Greek landscapes and guidelines for sustainable landscape management according to type, a permanent system for information dissemination and public consultation encompassing web GIS applications and pilot studies for selected areas. The project includes the ex-post review of all Regional Frameworks Planning and Sustainable Development, the main instruments for land-use planning.