LANDSCAPE: A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR REGIONAL

LANDSCAPE: A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR REGIONAL GOVERNANCE?
LANDSCAPE SCENARIO WORKSHOPS AS A PARTICIPATORY PLANNING TOOL
Wolfgang Pfefferkorn, Barbara Černič Mali
Rosinak & Partner ZT GmbH, Austria
Abstract
What will landscape look like in Saas Fee/Switzerland in the year 2020? Who will run the few
remaining mountain farms in Carnia/Italy? Will the bears and wolves reconquer the woods of the
Eastern Austrian Alps?
Between 1997 and 2004, these and other questions have been discussed in several projects
between researchers, public administration and local population in the whole Alpine bow. Hereby,
the inter- and transdisciplinary groups used the methods of ´future pictures and future stories of
cultural landscape´ in order:
to develop and discuss ´likely futures´ of their regions
to define desired and non desired trends
to identify measures for supporting the desired and to prevent undesired developments
to find common agreements for local action.
The method of ´future pictures and future stories of cultural landscape´ consists of the following 4
elements:
1-2 general scenario(s) with sectoral information as a general basis
basic data for future development on regional level
future pictures of cultural landscape (photomontages, future-maps)
2-page stories describing the future life of landscape actors. The stories are written by
locals or by researchers.
These 4 elements have been used as working material for ´future workshops on cultural
landscape´. The participants of these workshops were researchers, local and regional
administration, representatives of regionally important economic sectors, NGOs and local
population.
The workshops took place in two parts:
during the first workshop, entitled: ´The future of the region xy´, the participants
discussed ´likely futures´ of their regions and defined thematic priorities. The future
options were presented through future pictures (photomontages, future-maps) which
enabled visualisation and mental transfer of the participants into the future
the second workshop was entitled: ´From future to presence´. The aim was to bring
down future expectations to the needs of action TODAY. The questions was: what do
we have to do today in order to promote desired and to avoid undesired developments?
The results of the second workshop were a list of project ideas and plans for local /
regional actions to be undertaken in the frame of regional programmes like LEADER+
or others.
The advantages of this method:
It allows a direct exchange of opinions and experiences between researchers, public
administration and regional actors.
By visualisation of the future it enables to overcome the distance between the present
and the future
It leads to commonly agreed bottom up project ideas, which can be implemented on
local and regional level. So it builds a bridge between research and action.
It leads to commonly agreed bottom up proposals for improving policies on regional,
national and EU level
It leads to empowerment of locals and
As a new culture of preparing regional decisions it contributes to a new way of
regional governance.
In the presentation at the Conference in Bordeaux the authors summarize their wide range of
experiences gained in about 15 regions in the Alps between 1997 and 2004. They illustrate the
methods by showing future pictures and future stories as well as by describing some examples for
local action in different regions of the Alps.
INTRODUCTION
“Since the middle of the 1990ies, 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”1
For a long time, the discussion about landscape development has been dominated by
conservation and nature protection aspects. In the last few years, this discussion has been
superseded by new and more comprehensive understandings guided by the idea of sustainable
development.
1 - A trans-disciplinary approach
In this new understanding of landscape and landscape research, inter- and transdisciplinary
approaches become more and more important.
What will landscape look like in Saas Fee/Switzerland in the year 2020?
Who will run the few remaining mountain farms in Carnia/Italy?
Will the bears and wolves reconquer the woods of the Eastern Austrian Alps?
Between 1997 and 2004, these and other questions have been discussed in several projects
between researchers, public administration and local population in the whole Alpine bow.
Hereby, the inter- and transdisciplinary groups used the method of ´future pictures and future
stories of cultural landscape´ in order:
•
•
•
•
To develop and discuss ´likely futures´ for their regions,
To define desired and non desired trends,
To identify measures for supporting desired and to prevent undesired
developments,
To find common agreements for local action.
2 - Scientific background
The results presented below are based on the research project REGALP (Full title: ´Regional
Development and Cultural Landscape Change: the Example of the Alps. Evaluating and
1
(European Centre for Nature Conservation, 2000)
Adjusting EU and National Policies to Manage a Balanced Change´, 2001-2004). The project
was cofinanced by the European Comission and several national institutions under the 5th
Framework Programme. For more information see: www.regalp.at.
The method was developed in following research projects:
•
•
•
´EU-Extension to the East: Chances and Risks for Sustainable Development of
Cultural Landscapes in the Styria-Slovenia Border Region´ (2000-2002). Research
project financed by the Austrian Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science
and Culture under the Austrian Research Focus ´Cultural Landscapes´.
´Sustainable development of alpine cultural landscapes in the Austria-Slovenia
Border Region´ (1998-1999). Research project financed by the Austrian Austrian
Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture under the Austrian Research
Focus ´Cultural Landscapes´.
´Future Pictures and Future Stories of Cultural Landscape´ (1998-1999). Research
project financed by the Austrian Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science
and Culture under the Austrian Research Focus ´Cultural Landscapes´.
3 - Methodological design of regional scenarios, future pictures and future stories
The method of ´future pictures and future stories of cultural landscape´ is based on the
following steps (see Fig. 1):
(1) Analysing macro-trends
(2) Defining integrated cultural landscape scenarios
(3) Detailing regional scenarios by using data, future pictures and future stories of cultural
landscape
(4) Developing strategies to promote desired and to avoid undesired developments.
In REGALP, the first step was the comprehensive review of future research and existing
sectoral prognoses. Thus, main development trends on European level which will influence
spatial development and cultural landscape changes in the Alps until 2020 were identified. In
REGALP these macrotrends have been compiled in a “Macrotrends Reader”. They were one
basis for the second step, the elaboration of two opposite integrated cultural landscape
scenarios for the Alps in 2020. Step 3 was the elaboration of regional scenarios of the cultural
landscape for 7 pilot regions inthe Alps, using a detailed analysis of regional data as well as
the expertise of regional stakeholders (by carrying out interviews) for further information.
Figure 1:Steps towards regional cultural landscape scenarios
Step 1: Macro-trends
Economy
Technology
Population,
life-style
Transport
Environment,
alpine
resources
Step 2: Integrated cultural landscape
scenarios
Regional data base
Regional and local expertise
Step 3: Regional cultural landscape
scenarios:
-
Scenario description
Future pictures
Future stories
Step 4: Appraisal and strategies
Regional action
programme
Public
awareness
Education,
schools, training
Source: HIESS et al 1999
The regional cultural landscape scenarios consist of three elements:
•
•
•
•
Scenario description: qualitative and quantitative description of selected indicators
for regional development and cultural landscape change
Future pictures: visualisation of anticipated landscape changes by using different
techniques like computer-generated photomontages of aerial photos or landscape
shots, or simplified maps of future land use or vegetation
In REGALP and the other projects presented the future pictures have been
elaborated by members of the research team before the future workshops.
Future Stories: description of the everyday life of various actors from the pilot
region at a future moment of the year 2020, conveying aspects of everyday life,
which cannot be expressed neither in data nor in maps or pictures. The future
stories were partly written by members of the research team. The others – as the
result of a very fruitful co-operation with local schools – were written by pupils
from the pilot region aged between 10 and 18 years.
Step 4, the appraisal of the regional scenarios and the development of regional strategies, has
been carried out in workshops with stakeholders from the pilot pilot regions. Based on the
discussions in local workshops future expectations were corrected and amended in order to
present better the perception of the future of the Alps by the local and regional actors and
residents of the pilot regions. As the regional scenarios are showing development options,
new questions arise: “Is the designed future landscape what we really want in our region?
Does it stand for sustainable development? If yes, what do we have to do for it? If no, how
can we prevent it?” In general, the step of appraisal can be the starting point for education
projects, public awareness campaigns, regional action programmes, or for the rethinking of
existing plans and policies.
4 - The Alps in the year 2020: Integrated scenarios of the cultural landscape
The REGALP research team has worked out future scenarios for the Alps as a whole and for
the seven pilot regions in the year 2020. The REGALP scenarios were not intended to be tools
for detailed forecasts, but to build a basis for discussions – within the research team as well as
with experts, policy makers and regional stakeholders.
At first, the review of existing forecasts and scenarios for different sectors (like demography,
technology, economy, transport, environment) revealed some exogenous “macrotrends” for
the future alpine development. These macrotrends as well as the above accessibility analysis
indicate that the gap between prosperous central regions and marginalised peripheral areas
will get bigger in the next years, and that metropolitan areas outside the Alps will gain more
and more influence on the Alpine area. But the scenarios can be differentiated, according to
the influence of sustainability oriented policies. In REGALP an “Inertial Scenario“ and a
”Towards Sustainability Scenario“ have been elaborated – the first one assuming a low, the
second one a high influence of such policies.
Apart from macrotrends and general policies which can be considered as external factors for
the future development of the alpine area, there are also internal factors for the future
development of the different regional development types within the Alps. Two main factors
have been identified:
•
•
“Alpine remoteness” of a region determines its situation of marginality; alpine
remoteness is a complex factor constituted by the distance from centres, the
altitude, the topographic features and the transport facilities.
“Presence and use of endogenous resources” determines regional development
potentials. It means the physical presence of diverse resources (like wood, water,
beautiful landscapes, local products or skills etc.) as well as the local policies and
attitudes.
Landscape Convention, European Spatial Development Perspective) are going to be
integrated into policies at different level. We are calling this second scenario “towards
sustainability” scenario.
Further zonings are listed in the chart, together with some of their peculiarities in both
scenarios:
Table 1: General features of the main clusters
Cluster
Local
centres
Commuter
areas with
own
activities
Residential
commuter
areas
Growing
peripheral
areas
Steady
peripheral
areas
Decline
peripheral
General peculiarities
Inertial Scenario
Alpine towns in which
most of the population,
of the economic
activities and of the
services are
concentrated. They are
disappearing in border
alpine regions with
strong influence from
metropolitan areas
outside the Alps.
They gravitate on the
local centres, but they
have some local
activities (in different
sectors). They are
areas of in- as well as
of out-commuting.
Quality of life could be
better than in the local
centres.
Typical areas of outcommuting, often
losing services and
local identity
To be in a peripheral
position in some cases
can be a “resource”.
Soft tourism,
multifunctional
agriculture, protection
of nature and/or other
activities give to these
areas a good chance
for development
Areas in which the
difficulties due to
alpine remoteness are
in some way
counterbalanced by
local activities and
economic resources
Fewer in number but
bigger in importance
than in 2003
They are areas of outmigration as well as of
Towards
Sustainability
Scenario
Not wider than in 2003
Not wider than in 2003 They are wider than in
the inertial scenario.
Different sectors of
economic activities are
present
(“polifunctional
growing areas”)
Wider than in 2003
Potentials can not be
realised
Less wide than in the
toward sustainability
scenario; less wide
than in 2003 because
of the strong decrease
of services in
peripheral areas that
causes depopulation
Wider than in 2003
Not wider than in
2003. Local services
and local transport
network are quite good
Wider than in 2003
Wider than in 2003;
poli-functionality
among different sectors
of economic activities
can be a good chance
to maintain steady
conditions
Less wide than in
2003, as in many areas
Cluster
areas
Touristic
areas
General peculiarities
out-commuting.
Services as well as
local economic
activities are
decreasing. Renaturalisation
characterises large
areas
They are situated at the
highest altitudes and
linked to winter sports,
most of all. Some of
them are growing (due
to a massive presence
of immigrants, tourists
and entrepreneurs),
some other are facing
crises.
Inertial Scenario
There are some
important growing
areas, but a large
number of touristic
communities on lower
sea level are facing a
serious crisis.
Towards
Sustainability
Scenario
new local resources
can be used for
“sustainable”
economic activities
Some strong classical
touristic areas, soft
tourism is a real
alternative. Other
economic activities
help
Source: CASTIGLIONI, B., GROSSUTTI, J., MASSARUTTO, A., TROIANO, S., VIRGILIO, T. (2004)
Figure 2: Integrated scenarios of the cultural landscape
Towards sustainability scenario
Alpine border regions
Core alpine regions
Interial scenario
Source: CASTIGLIONI, B., GROSSUTTI, J., MASSARUTTO, A., TROIANO, S., VIRGILIO, T. (2004)
5 - Workshops with Local Stakeholders
Working in selected pilot regions and involving local and regional actors in project activities
has been a core element of REGALP. The research team co-operated with local stakeholders n
the following 7 pilot regions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Wipp Valley, Austria
Lower Enns Valley/ Lower Tauern, Austria
Visp / Saas Valley, Switzerland
Le Trièves, France
Isarwinkel, Germany
But Valley, Carnia, Italy
Upper Sava Valley, Slovenia.
In each of the pilot regions two future workshops took place, with at average 15 participants,
amongst them mayors, regional administration, representatives of regionally important
economic sectors, NGOs and local population.
The workshops consisted of two parts:
•
•
The first workshop was entitled: ´The future of the region xy´. The participants
described their opinions about the future development of their region. The locals
were then confronted with the scenarios of the research team. These scenarios
were presented through future pictures of cultural landscape (photo-montages,
future-maps) which enables visualisation and mental transfer of the participants
into the future. In addition, the researchers (and/or the locals) had prepared future
stories describing every day life of specific actors (mayor, farmer, hotel manager
etc). in the year 2020. The expectations of the participants were collected based on
the answers to the question "What changes do you expect to happen in the region
xy by 2020" The expections of the locals and the researchers were compared and
discussed, key topics for further work were fixed.
The second workshop was entitled: ´From future to presence´. The aim was to
bring down the future expectations elaborated in the first workshops to the needs
of action TODAY. The questions was: what do we have to do today in order to
promote desired and to avoid undesired developments? The results of the second
workshop were twofold: a list of project ideas and plans for local / regional actions
to be undertaken. These actions should be developed further and carried out in the
fame of regional development programmes like LEADER+, INTERREG and
others. Secondly, the needs and requirements (reccomednations) for activities at
higher levels (the state, EU) were developed.
Future pictures
Ruttach (Austria) in 1998
Reforestation in Ruttach in 2020?
Žirovnica (Slovenia) in 2003
Urban sprawl in Žirovnica in 2020?
Source: BAČNAR, D., ČERNIC-MALI, B., KERBLER-KEFO, B., PRAPER, S. (2004)
Future stories
Written by children of a local school in the pilot region ´Le Trièves´, France.
Un scénario catastrophe pour le Trièves
« Nous sommes en 2023. J’ai 30 ans, je suis mariée et j’ai 3 enfants. Tous les jours, j’entends
les voitures, les trains, les camions. Le maire vient une heure par jour et il fait mettre des feux
de stop de partout. Aux rives, il y a un immeuble de 300 étages. A St Jean d’Hérans, il y a 6
maisons et une ligne droite. La montagne n’a plus d’arbres. Les voitures polluent les
campagnes. »
« Nous sommes en 2023. J’ai 31 ans. Le village de St Jean d’Hérans est extrêmement pollué.
Les poubelles sont renversées, il y a des produits chimiques et du caca partout. Aucune loi
n’existe plus : cambriolages, vols à main armée, bancs sciés en deux, voici quelques
exemples. La police est partout ; on ne peut rien faire sans être contrôlé. »
Un scénario de rêve pour le Trièves
« Nous sommes en 2023. J’ai 30 ans, je suis mariée et j’ai 3 enfants . on est tranquille, on
n’entend pas le bruit des voitures, des trains, des camions. Cela sent bon le foin. Il y a une
piscine publique, une salle des fêtes. A coté du parc, il y a un parc à chevaux, une grande
école. Les gens sont sympas. Ça ne sent pas la pollution. Il y a des champs d’herbes, des petits
villages sympas. »
« Nous sommes en 2023. j’ai 31 ans. Le village de St Jean d’Hérans est devenu génial : 2
immeubles, une piscine publique, une piste de quad, le stade de France, un terrain de tennis où
Roland Garros va bientôt se passer, un terrain de basket où il se passe des matchs de NBA. On
peut aussi faire des balades. »
CONCLUSION
All in all, the REGALP team estimates, that the workshops were a very good and useful tool
for integrating the perspectives of local population into research work. The local stakeholders
appreciated the opportunity to take part in development projects and to exchange views with
other people from their region. Apparently at present there are not enough local events like
these. In the workshops it also turned out that landscape is a key element for regional identity.
The landscape topic appeals to people directly and emotionally, since it is connected to every
day activities and even to individual experiences in the childhood. Thus, the landscape topic
has proved to be very useful for integrating locals into regional planning and decision making.
This could open new perspectives for participatory planning and governance on regional
level.
REFERENCES
BAČNAR, D., ČERNIC-MALI, B., KERBLER-KEFO, B., PRAPER, S. 2004: Making
Public the View of Locals. WP 5, Task 5.5 / Task 5.6 Conference of Regions. D 5.4
Proceedings of the Conference of Regions. Regional Development and Cultural Landscape
Change: The Example of the Alps. Evaluating and Adjusting EU and National Policies to
Manage a Balanced Change. Ljubljana.
CASTIGLIONI, B., GROSSUTTI, J., MASSARUTTO, A., TROIANO, S., VIRGILIO, T.
2004. Developing integrated cultural landscape scenarios in the Alps for the year 2020. WP4
Work Package Report. Regional Development and Cultural Landscape Change: The Example
of the Alps. Evaluating and Adjusting EU and National Policies to Manage a Balanced
Change. Udine.
HIESS, H., FAVRY, E., PFEFFERKORN, W. 1999. Future Pictures and Future Stories of
Cultural Landscape´. Research project financed by the Austrian Austrian Federal Ministry for
Education, Science and Culture under the Austrian Research Focus ´Cultural Landscapes´.
Vienna.
PAYSAGE : UNE FENETRE D’OPPORTUNITE POUR LA GOUVERNANCE
REGIONALE ? ATELIERS DE SCENARII DE PAYSAGES COMME OUTILS DE
PARTICIPATION POUR L’AMENAGEMENT
Wolfgang Pfefferkorn, Barbara Černič Mali
Rosinak & Partner ZT GmbH, Austria
Résumé
À quoi ressemblera le paysage du village Suisse Saas-Fee en 2020 ? Qui exploitera les quelques
fermes de montagne restante à Carnia en Italie ? Est-ce que les ours et les loups reconquériront les
forêts à l’est de l’Autriche ?
De 1997 à 2004 ces questions parmi d’autres ont été discutées entre chercheurs, administrations
publics et acteurs locaux en plusieurs projets dans l’arc entier des Alpes. Lors de ces projets les
groupes inter- et trans-disciplinaires ont appliqué la méthode des « images et histoires du futur »
afin de :
concevoir et discuter des scénarios d’avenir vraisemblables de leurs régions,
définir des tendances souhaitées et non souhaitées,
découvrir des mesures pour supporter les tendances souhaitées et éviter les tendances
non souhaitées,
s’accorder sur des activités locales.
La méthode des « images et histoires du futur » consiste des 4 éléments suivants :
1 à 2 scénarios comme base générale,
des dates de base pour le développent futur de la région,
des image futures du paysage (photomontages, cartes d’ une situation future),
des histoires de 2 pages décrivant la vie future des acteurs locaux par rapport aux
paysages autour d’eux. Les histoires sont écrites par des acteurs locaux ou par des
chercheurs.
Ces 4 éléments ont servis de matériel pour les ateliers de travail « paysage du futur ». Des
chercheurs, des membres de l’administration locale et régionale, des représentants des secteurs
économiques importants dans la région, des représentants d’associations avec but non lucratif et la
population locale ont participé dans ces ateliers de travail.
Les ateliers de travail avaient lieu en deux parties:
Lors du premier atelier nommé « L"avenir da la région xy », les participants ont
discuté des options d’avenir vraisemblable de leur région et défini les sujets
prioritaires. Les options d’avenir du paysage ont été présentés en forme d’images du
futur (des photomontages ou des cartes d’une situation future) stimulant l’imagination
et transformant les participant mentalement dans l'avenir.
Le deuxième atelier, nommé « De l"avenir au présent » avait pour but de déduire de
l’avenir attendu les besoins d’actions pour AUJOURD’HUI. La question suivante se
posait: Qu’est-ce que nous devons entreprendre aujourd’hui dans notre région pour
encourager les tendances souhaitées et d’éviter les tendances non souhaitées ? Le
deuxième atelier a produit une liste d’idées pour des projets et un plan pour des
activités locales ou régionales qui devraient être réalisés dans le cadre de LEADER+
ou d’autres programmes régionaux.
Les avantages de cette méthode :
Elle permet un échange d’expériences et d’opinions directes entre chercheurs,
administration publique et acteurs régionaux.
Par la visualisation de l’avenir la distance entre le présent et le futur peut être
surmontée.
La méthode apporte des idées de projets conjointement définies qui peuvent être
réalisées à l’échelon local ou régional. Ainsi un pont entre la recherche et l’action est
construit.
Par les propositions conjointement définies par des acteurs locaux (« bottom up »), les
stratégies politiques peuvent être améliorées.
La position de la population locale est renforcée.
Une nouvelle culture de préparer les décisions à l’échelon régional contribue à une
nouvelle culture de gouvernance régionale.
Dans leurs présentation à la Conférence de Bordeaux les auteurs résument la vaste expérience
gagnée dans environ 15 régions dans les Alpes entre 1997 et 2004. Ils illustrent la méthode en
présentant des images et histoires du futur ainsi que quelques exemples d’actions locales
provenant de différentes régions des Alpes.