Mission Statement

The landscape issue is of increasing importance as a resource and locational factor for regional development. In medium term, European regions and landscapes are facing extensive changes. The interrelation between regional development and cultural landscape change has not yet been comprehensively examined. Existing policy instruments do not take account of these interrelations sufficiently. Therefore they have to be adjusted to meet future requirements with regard to sustainable development.

"Since about five years time, the role of landscapes as a political issue at the European level has been steadily increasing. Despite the absence of formal, statutory European instruments for landscapes, they have captured the interest of both scientific and governmental bodies alike. ... Like no other discipline, a landscape approach offers holistic assessment and planning tools to define and develop the interface between nature and culture. Hence, landscape, as the place of human interaction with nature appears to be the heart of sustainability" (EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR NATURE CONSERVATION, 2000).

The European Community has developed a Spatial Development Strategy (ESDP) to meet present and future requirements. REGALP will contribute to this strategy as well as to landscape oriented goals of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by proposing future-oriented adjustments to the relevant EU and national policy fields. These adjustments will be elaborated in close co-operation with local actors in a number of pilot regions in different Alpine states. By combining a top-down and a bottom-up approach REGALP will also contribute to local empowerment and to integrated and sustainable regional development.