The European Landscape
LANDSCHAP has mainly been concerned with the Dutch landscape. In comparison to many other landscapes in Europe, the Dutch landscape is characteristic because it is largely man-made. The man-made polder is one of the best known. It covers more than 50% of the European polder area. Other important Dutch landscapes are the fen area, the Wadden and the Delta. For the management of these landscapes, the Netherlands could be a source of knowledge for other European countries. The Netherlands has a tradition of developing landscapes as part of an advanced water management and nature development. Conversely, Europe has a great diversity of landscapes, some of which also occur in the Netherlands, such as the river and loam areas. The exchange of experiences with these landscape could lead to more coordinated landscape management.
Although Dutch landscape policy initially complied with the European Landscape Convention, the Dutch government later failed. Landscape policy became a task for the provinces. They dealt with it in very different ways. In this area too, the Netherlands can learn from abroad. The European landscape, landscape research and policy from abroad should deserve more attention in LANDSCHAP. The reverse happens amply. Dutch landscape researchers publish in international journals and are active in IALE. This special issue is dedicated to the future of the European landscape, following the symposium on this subject in September 2021. The symposium and this special issue were sponsored by Cultural Heritage Agency, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, WLO and NVTL. The editorial staff consists of Bas Pedroli (Uniscape), Niek Hazendonk (WLO/NVTL), Alexandra Tisma (PBL) and the editors of LANDSCHAP Geert de Blust, Johan Meeus, Theo van der Sluis and Jos Dekker.
JOS DEKKER, CHIEF EDITOR
New chief editor: Wim de Haas
Wim de Haas (1956) will be the new chief editor of LANDSCHAP as of 1 July 2022. He is now retired, but used to work for Wageningen Environmental Research. He was project leader of several projects on landscape governance, nature conflicts and nature-inclusive agriculture. His expertise lies in the field of policy interventions, transition theory and conceptual approaches to nature and landscape.
Wim has a research and policy background. He was part of the team that drafted the Dutch National Science Agenda. He worked on area development at the Government Service for Land and Water Management, was head of the department Rural Areas at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and head of the advisory department of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Moreover, he served on the board of the Landscape Triennial from 2017 to 2022. Wim studied in Wageningen and has a PhD on the role of knowledge in Dutch regional planning. He wrote a book on planning theory (in Dutch: Planning als Gesprek, 2005) and on the meaning of the landscape (in Dutch: Het Landschap Verstaan, 2022).
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