The Council of Europe is an institution that is poorly understood in the UK. It is seen, certainly by some, as an external European organisation that imposes on British freedoms, whilst the truth is that it was the dreamchild of Churchill, conceived during the war years as a means of creating an enduring peace in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of London in 1949 and was largely constructed by British lawyers. It precedes the establishment of the European Union by nearly a decade, is a much larger organisation representing many more countries  (46 member states including the UK – EU 27 member states excluding the UK). It is concerned with three basic principles, human rights, democracy and rule of law, whereas the EU is more concerned with commerce and creating an even playing field and conditions in which commerce can thrive. 

The CoE regulates through treaties, known as Conventions, which member states sign up to; whereas the EU issues Directives which member states are obliged to follow as a body of law. Member states 0f the CoE are required to be signatories of the European Convention of Human Rights and may, or may not, sign up to other Conventions. 

The European Landscape Convention, also known as the Florence Convention, was adopted by the CoE Committee of Ministers in July 2000 and was open for signatures on the 20^th October 2000.  It declared that:

‘Landscape has an important public interest role in the cultural, ecological, environmental and social fields, and constitutes a resource favourable to economic activity and whose protection, management and planning, contribute to human well-being…and entail rights and responsibilities for everyone.’

The CoE Landscape Convention, as it is currently known, is now also open for signature outside its jurisdiction. However, it is important to note that each party, signatory to the Convention, undertakes to:

1. recognise landscape in law as an essential component of people’s surroundings, an expression of the diversity of their shared cultural and natural heritage, and a foundation of their identity;
2. establish and implement landscape policies aimed at landscape protection, management and planning through the adoption of specific measures;
3. establish procedures for the participation of the general public, local and regional authorities, and other parties with an interest in the definition and implementation of landscape policies mentioned in para b above;
4. integrate landscape into its regional and town planning policies and in its cultural, environmental, agricultural, social and economic policies, as well as in any other policies with possible direct or indirect impact on landscape.

The Convention has been signed by 41 out of the 46 countries members of the Council of Europe and 25 of the 27 members of the European Union.  Only Germany and Austria are the significant states that remain outside the Convention.  The Convention covers many aspects of international policy and programmes, encouraging mutual assistance and exchange of information, promoting for example the exchange of landscape specialists, in particular for training and information purposes.  As is often said – landscape has no frontiers!

The Convention introduced a means of monitoring its implementation through workshops and conferences.  It introduced the biennial Landscape Award of the Council of Europe appointing each time a committee of experts to act as an international jury. Recently, the 8th Session 2022-2024 of the Awards took place in Portugal with a project ‘the Villages of the Sierra Lousa’, being declared the winner.  The Conferences and workshops provide an excellent opportunity for the exchange of ideas but also exist to help fellow professionals to establish contacts and learn from each others experience.  The criteria used for judging the competition are those of Sustainable territorial development, Exemplary value, Public participation, and Awareness-raising.  However, although there are professional associations of landscape architects in 34 of the States Parties to the Convention (41), the contact and relationship between these associations and their national governments is poorly established and the invitations to participate in the competition often end up in the wrong place. Consequently, few of the entries for the competition meet the criteria and there is a parade of small, relatively inconsequential projects which have little chance of winning.

In addition, there are problems with the CoE Committee responsible for the Convention, which is the CDCPP (Culture, Patrimoine et Paysage) – Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape.  Attendees typically include someone from a Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport; or the Head of the International Cultural Cooperation Division; or the Special Government Advisor, Department for Art and Cultural Policy; an Archaeologist/Art Historian, or an archivist.  There are few who are actively involved in landscape, landscape strategic planning, landscape management or urban or rural devlopment. Representatives from the UK Government at the 12th Plenary Session of the CDCPP were the Head of Cultural Diplomacy, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Head of International Strategy at HISTORIC ENGLAND.  Landscape is a poorly neglected partner in this Commiittee. It desperatelly needs changing!

Following the withdrawal of Russia and Belarus the CoE in 2022 (the only two countries that have ever left) the finances of the CoE became stretched resulting in the future of the Convention being doubtful as the Executive Secretary, Maguelonne Dejeant-Pons, who had been in post since its inception, retired and was not replaced.  In May 2023 the 4th Summit of the CoE took place in Iceland.  Representations were made by IFLA EU (International Federation of Landscape Architects EUROPE) to the then President of the CoE, Marija Pejčinović Burić, concerning the future of the Convention.  Appendix 5 of the Reykjavik Declaration, preceded the announcement of a new structure, programme and budget for 2024-27.  IFLA EU welcomed the Declaration, reaffirming and renewing the core values of the Council of Europe, its democratic foundations and its commitment to human rights and the rule of law. In uniting to meet current and future challenges it supported increased efforts to ‘protect the environment, as well as to counter the impact of the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity’. In strengthening the work on human rights aspects in relation to the environment.

The Landscape Convention has subsequently moved from DG2 Democracy to DG1 Human Rights neighbouring the Bern Convention –  The CoE Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979).  It is now in the Department for the Reykjavík Process and Environment.  Earlier this year on the 14 May 2025, the CoE Committee of Ministers adopted the Council of Europe Strategy on the Environment, as well as adopting the COE Convention on the protection of the environment through criminal law.  This Strategy fulfils the mandate of the 4th Summit to elevate environment as a visible priority of the Council of Europe presenting a forward-looking and comprehensive vision to align human rights, democracy, and the rule of law with environmental protection. 

This vision is grounded in the belief that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is not a luxury — it is essential to the full enjoyment of human rights for present and future generations.

In principle this is all good news.  The Landscape Convention will possibly have more gravitas, landscape and the environment will be better protected, with damage to either being recognised as a criminal act.

So, what of the future?   It is important that Germany and Austria sign the Convention. Standing alongside the Bern Convention this might be less of a conflict than it was. What about the European Union, could the EU sign the Convention?  Is there scope for the EU to incorporate some of the aims and objectives of the Convention into EU Directives. ‘Landscape’ is a term that hardly appears in any EU documents, yet it is the stage on which all Europeans live, work and play. 

In terms of nature and the natural environment there is nevertheless some commonality between the work of the CoE and the EU. However, one area that would greatly benefit from closer cooperation is planning law and the need to integrate landscape policies in all sectoral policies that have territorial impacts.  Although there is an EU Directive demanding Environmental Impact Assessments of major infrastructure projects there is no such Directive instructing the need for landscape character assessment, or the development of comprehensive landscape strategies at local, regional, and national level.  Without this essential base, broad strategies covering many other aspects of planning can be fundamentally flawed.  More detailed collaboration between the EU and the CoE providing mutual support for important legislation could be more effective.

Detailed landscape policies are key not simply in safeguarding human rights and respect for democracy, with regard to the quality of the environment, but also in planning to mitigate climate change, countering the effects of extreme climatic events, reducing biodiversity loss and dealing with pollution.  National and local governments often seem to prefer to invest in expensive grey infrastructure projects which sometimes compound some of these problems, when cheaper, more economic, more effective, sustainable, resilient nature-based solutions are available.

Progress is being made, but slowly!

Written by Michael Oldham (retired FLI)
Michael has been involved with IFLA Europe as its 1st President for almost 40 years and reports as current Honorary Member of IFLA Europe and Chair of the Council of Europe Working Group and he is IFLA EUs observer on the Council of Europe.