The biodiversity of agricultural landscapes is strongly dependent on extensive traditional management practices and the proportion of natural and semi-natural habitats within the landscape. Within Europe, contemporary agricultural management practices, as well as nature conservation regimes are often oriented toward establishing suitable preconditions for maintaining biodiversity; this requires operational methods to assess and monitor the effects of policy measures on landscape heterogeneity. In this article a method for evaluating landscape heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is proposed, which measures two main components: (1) land cover heterogeneity and (2) landscape features’ heterogeneity. The first can be defined as a function of compositional (number of land cover categories) and configurational (distribution of land cover categories) heterogeneity, whereas the latter is the result of landscape features diversity (the number of different types of landscape features) and landscape features count (the overall number of landscape features). Considering the proposed index, the heterogeneity of agricultural landscapes is ranked into three classes. The proposed land use and landscape features inventory, combined with the landscape heterogeneity evaluation index, could serve as a basis for the development of landscape management practices, which aim to fulfill objectives of several EU policies (e.g. Common Agricultural Policy, Natura 2000). Nevertheless, spatial context, as well as nature protection and agricultural objectives need to be considered when applying the proposed index in management practice.
COBISS.SI-ID: 9429369
The Barca Report of 2009 firmly placed endogenous potentials on the European Union policy agenda. Now, as the current EU programming period 2014–2020 draws to a close, this article examines how such potentials are being shaped and applied at the local and regional levels. We reflect upon lessons learned from this approach, thereby contributing to the debate on the next European Union’s cohesion programming period from 2020 onwards. The analysis deals with the valorization of place-based development potentials in case study regions, highlighting challenges in the current development of such regions. Examples are given of the utilization of endogenous potentials, and we consider lessons learned from this locally-led, place-based development approach for the wider framework of European cohesion policy. The focus is on (old) industrial regions, characterized by small- and medium-sized towns outside major agglomerations. The authors conclude that it is insufficient to merely consider the direct economic effects of endogenous development potentials. Instead, a more comprehensive perspective is required, one that pays greater attention to other functions of endogenous approaches, specifically their catalyst, identity and symbolic functions.
COBISS.SI-ID: 9392761
While renewable energy sources enjoy high public support, projects are rarely implemented without opposition. The term energy landscapes indicates that landscape change is amongst the most frequent issues. This study researched lay people’s perceptions of landscapes changed by solar power plants. The first objective was to discover how likely solar power plants are to be noticed in the landscape. The second objective was to determine the associations observers make when spotting a solar power plant. The data was collected by participatory photography and focus groups. Participants visited six solar power plants. The results show that they are highly noticeable and contentious objects. Participants who understood the landscape as a rural idyll disapproved of solar power plants, while for those who perceived the landscape through a utilitarian narrative, the (mis)fit of the solar power plant depended on its relation to the surrounding landscape structure. Landscape degradation was contrasted with low-carbon energy and developmental benefits. The results provide evidence on the interdependence of visual and non-visual factors and suggest improvements in planning and design of solar power plants. While the method gives a rich in-depth insight into landscape perception, it is also context dependent and needs further research to obtain more generalisable results.
COBISS.SI-ID: 9424249
Policies and strategies to develop renewable energy and the rates of successful deployment vary from country to country. Academic literature is rife with examples of recurring problems and malpractice in the implementation of renewable energy projects. We could see each national and sectoral effort as an ‘experiment’ in the early phase of our attempted transition to a low carbon energy system. This paper seeks to draw generic lessons not from what has gone wrong but from national case studies that stand out in a best way. Through a European academic network, we have selected and analysed 51 ‘smart practice’ case studies of renewable energy development from 20 countries. We present the outcomes of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of these case studies (smart practice criteria) and discuss a set of generic findings concerning specific types of smart practices and problems of potential transferability of projects to other regions. With regards to policy relevance, the findings can be used for evaluating portfolios of renewable energy projects developed to date and for setting guiding principles for project design, spatial planning and consent-giving.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8980345
The Slovenian national planning policy has been in a renewal process since 2014. The process required an evaluation to reveal to which level the defined measures have been delivered and discuss the policy’s future role. The mixed-methods evaluation approach consisted of a document analysis, a questionnaire with local communities and interviews with the representatives of the ministries. Implementation of measures depends on multiple factors: capacity, personal priorities of the actors, interpretation skills, financial support, political will for co-operation, etc. The potential to mitigate the influence of factors on implementation through co-evolutionary trend of planning is elaborated in the light of Europeanisation.
COBISS.SI-ID: 8974201