INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM: 25 YEARS OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE LANDSCAPE CONVENTION: Lessons and Challenges in Governance, Planning, Risk Management and Landscape Studies

After the drafting of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention in the year 2000, the Valencian Community and other Spanish autonomous communities defined some of the most advanced policies and tools for the integration of the landscape in regional planning and management. After 25 years, this symposium proposes an international and multifaceted reflection on the main successes and challenges encountered during this period, as well as the identification of the opportunities arising from the new impetus that the Council of Europe wants to provide to the Convention through its recent connection to the Directorate-General for Social Rights, Health and the Environment. In this context, the symposium incorporates four topics to structure the debate. Firstly, Landscape Planning and the improvement of its linkages to other territorial, urban and sectoral planning tools. Secondly, Landscape Governance as a framework for the sustainable integration of social and economic demands and expectations. Thirdly, Landscape Risk Management as a response to the vulnerabilities derived from the intense occupation of the territory and environmental risks, of which the recent DANA (heavy storms and floods) in Valencia is a paradigmatic example of international interest. Finally, a fourth topic focused on the contents and methods of Landscape Studies, as these studies constitute the basic documents to be able to operate satisfactorily in the three previous topics. At the organizational level, the inaugural conferences will be given by leading international experts, who will also participate in the moderation of the working groups in which the attendees will jointly define a series of recommendations for the proper implementation of the Convention in the coming years. The conference will conclude with a guided tour of the southern area of the Metropolitan Area of Valencia to learn about this territory, its vulnerabilities, the effects of the recent DANA, and propose actions aimed at increasing its resilience.

PROGRAM

Dates: 17th-18th October 2025

Place: School of Architecture (Polytechnic University of Valencia) 

Friday 17 October 2025

  • 9:00-9:30: Reception
  • 9:30-10:00: Institutional welcome (Sala de Proyecciones, ETSA-UPV)
    • Belén Pico Sirvent (Vice-Rector for Research, UPV)
    • Ernesto Fenollosa Forner (Dean of the School of Architecture, UPV)
    • Maria Emilia Casar Furio (Head of the Department of Urbanism, UPV)
  • 10:00-11:00 Perspectives from the administrations (Sala de Proyecciones, ETSA-UPV)
    • 10:00-10:20 Representative of the Council of Europe
      • Ms. Marta Rodrigues (Chair of the 13th Conference on the implementation of the Council of Europe Landscape Convention)
    • 10:20-10:40 Representative of the Ministry of Culture, Government of Spain
      •  Mr. Antonio Jesús Antequera Delgado (Coordinator of the National Plan for Cultural Landscapes, Ministry of Culture, Government of Spain)
    • 10:40-11:00 Representative of the Regional Ministry of the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, Generalitat Valenciana
      • Mr. Miguel Ángel Ivorra Devesa (General Director of Urban Planning, Landscape and Environmental Assessment, Regional Ministry of the Environment, Infrastructure and Territory, Generalitat Valenciana)
  • 11:00-11:30 Coffee-break
  • 11:30-13:30 Presentation of working groups (Sala de Proyecciones, ETSA-UPV)
    • 11:30-12:15 THEME 1: Landscape Planning: The landscape in territorial and sectoral planning
      • Jesús María Erquicia Olaciregui (former Head of the Territorial Planning Service of the Basque Government (1987-2022))
      • Vicente Doménech Gregori (former Deputy Director General of Planning, Planning and Strategic Territorial Actions; Generalitat Valenciana)
    • 12:15-13:00 THEME 2: Landscape Governance: the landscape as a place of consensus
      • Dr. Bas Pedroli (Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands)
      • Dr. Ellen Fetzer (former president of ECLAS, Chair of the LE:NOTRE Institute, Germany)
    • 13:00-13:45 THEME 3: Landscape Risk Management: diagnosis and solutions
      • Dr. Ramiro Martínez Costa (General Coordinator REMOC Mediterranean Network of Basin Organizations, EVREN) 
      • Prof. Dr. Marialuce Stanganelli (Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy) 
    • 13:45-14:30 THEME 4: Landscape Studies: Tools, Methodologies and Challenges
      • Rosana Muñoz Capel (Head of the Landscape Service, Generalitat Valenciana)
      • Pere Sala i Martí (Director of the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia)
  • 14:30-16:00 Lunch break
  • 16:00 -18:00 Working Groups (in 4 classrooms of the School of Architecture, ETSA-UPV)
    • 16:00-18:00 WORKING GROUP 1: Landscape Planning: The landscape in territorial and sectoral planning (in English or Spanish)
      • Experts: Jesús María Erquicia and Vicente Doménech Gregori
      • Moderator: Joaquín Farinós Dasí (full professor University of Valencia, president of FUNDICOT) 
      • Work: Identification of challenges, possible solutions, preparation of conclusions
    • 16:00-18:00 WORKING GROUP 2: Landscape Governance: Landscape as a Place of Consensus (in English)
      • Experts: Dr. Bas Pedroli and Dr. Ellen Fetzer
      • Moderator: Juanjo Galán Vivas (Associate Professor, UPV)
      • Work: Identification of challenges, possible solutions, preparation of conclusions
    • 16:00-18:00 WORKING GROUP 3: Landscape Risk Management: diagnosis and solutions (in English)
      • Experts: Dr. Ramiro Martínez and Prof. Dr. Marialuce Stanganelli 
      • Moderator: Josep Lluís Miralles García (AUOT coordinator)
      • Work: Identification of challenges, possible solutions, preparation of conclusions
    • 16:00-18:00 WORKING GROUP 4: Landscape Studies: Tools, Methodologies and Challenges (in English or Spanish)
      • Experts: Rosana Muñoz Capel and Pere Sala i Martí
      • Moderator: Ignacio Diez Torrijos (Assistant Professor, UPV)
      • Work: Identification of challenges, possible solutions, preparation of conclusions
  • 18:00 – 19:30 Presentation of the results of the working tables and round table with the moderators (Sala de Proyecciones, ETSA-UPV)
  • 21:30 Dinner

Saturday 18 October 2025

  • 9:30-11:00: Introductory class on the DANA (flooding events) of October 2024 (Sala de Proyecciones, ETSA-UPV)
    • Sergio Palencia Jiménez (Associate Professor, Director of the Master Degree Programme on Transport, Territory and Spatial Planning, UPV) 
  • 11:00 14:00: Visit to the southern corridor and the flooded areas in the DANA of October 2024 (by bus with different stops at strategic points)

14:00 Informal lunch (picnic type) and closure of the Symposium

REGISTRATION CLOSED (sold-out)

Contact: juagavi@urb.upv.es