Impacts of the European Landscape Convention on national planning systems: A comparative investigation of six case studies

• This paper presents a comparative analysis of the landscape planning systems in a selection of European states; this analysis can be extended to other cases.
• Each system is connected to the corresponding institutional framework.
• The method successfully assesses the performance of each system with respect to its conformance to the European Landscape Convention (ELC).
• The pitfalls and strengths of each planning context are reported.
• The ELC may induce a European style of landscape planning.

This paper presents an assessment of the effects of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), a treaty signed more than a decade ago, on national landscape planning systems, with special reference to planning policies and tools. While the ELC has been formally ratified by the majority of the states involved, its actual implementation has varied throughout Europe. The author develops a qualitative, indicator-based, and comparative method to study the on-going institutional and planning situation in six European countries: Catalonia (Spain), France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The study confirms that ELC implementation depends on local government systems and the traditions that dominate landscape planning. Two conclusions have been reached: (i) land management is a powerful instrument for implementing landscape policies; (ii) the sensitivity to landscape issues is greater in the policies for other sectors, such as the environment, cultural heritage, water management, infrastructure, and tourism.