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Abstract |
The European Landscape Convention (ELC) is the first European Treaty that is aimed specifically at the landscape. The aims of this Convention are to promote landscape protection, management and planning. A main point is that the landscape contributes to the shaping of local cultures. Landscape is a basic component of European nature and cultural heritage. Landscape contributes to the well-being of people and the strengthening of the European identity. This produces everyone rights and responsibilities for protection, management and planning of the landscape. The ELC promotes the involvement of citizens at “their” landscape and stimulates the regional and national governments in Europe to create good conditions for the development and the management of the landscape. The ELC cover all landscapes, urban or rural, nicely or ugly. On the 10th of June 2005 the Dutch minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food quality announced that The Netherlands will ratify the European Landscape Convention. The Dutch landscape policy has been renewed and is entirely in line with this Convention. There are 20 National Landscapes in the Netherlands, which cover approx. 25% of the surface. In the Netherlands important spatial changes are in preparation, varying from new house construction projects to catching the impact of climate change. So involvement of citizens is very important. Therefore the government was interested in the opinion of inhabitants of these National Landscapes, and what their attitude is and what their preferences are. An on-line research with 4000 respondents was carried out to give the answers. The most important result is that the inhabitants agree with the policy. Their attitude is that (economic) development must continue, but with great care of the typical characteristics of the landscape. The preferences depend on the different recreation motives, but the desire for nature development is very popular. |
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