Baas, H., G.-J. van Herwaarden.

Ja mits nee maar tenzij? Nederland en de Europese Landschapsconventie.

Historisch Geografisch Tijdschrift 30 (2012) 184 - 194.

De Europese Landschapsconventie (ELC) is een verdrag dat zich specifiek richt op het landschap in zijn holistische benadering. En hoewel de insteek niet primair cultuurhistorisch is, is de tekst wel zo breed dat ook de historische gelaagdheid van het landschap een aspect is dat landen na ondertekening in acht moeten nemen. De vraag is wat de historische geografie als vakgebied kan bijdragen aan de ELC. In deze bijdrage wordt ingegaan op de achtergronden van de ELC, de implementatie in Nederland, wat er is bereikt en welke actuele problemen we in dit kader signaleren.

The Netherlands and the European Landscape Convention

The Netherlands ratified the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2005. Most of the demands were already met at that time. A national landscape as well as a landscape and heritage policy (Belvedere) already existed. The most relevant NGO's joined the organisation which was called Landschapsmanifest (Landscape Manifesto). As a result, participation was, at least on a local scale, already quite successful in the Netherlands. At the end of 2011 things changed, mostly due to budget cuts. But it's also a matter of politically motivated principle. Only landscapes of high cultural value (such as World Heritage sites or some areas that were reconstructed during the 20th century) are protected by law on a national scale. The rest is the responsibility of provinces and municipalities. Regulating things at the lowest level possible is one of the elements of the ELC, but this requires a certain framework on a national scale. This is lacking at the moment, so much is uncertain about the further implementation of the ELC in the Netherlands.