Bridging Divides, Integrating Disciplines, Serving Society

This Science Policy Briefing (SPB41 of the ESF) is the outcome of the ESF-COST Synergy Initiative A European Network of Networks: ‘New Perspectives on Landscapes’ set up by the ESF Standing Committee for the Humanities (SCH) and the COST Domain Committee Individuals, Societies, Cultures and Health (ISCH) and developed in consultation with the ESF Standing Committee for Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences (LESC). The project integrated relevant COST Actions and ESF-funded activities, as well as national programmes and activities, spanning several scientific domains. The policy context for the project was set by, among other things, the adoption of the European Landscape Convention by the Council of Europe in 2000 as well as by the evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. In the period 2008-2009 the Steering Committee of the Synergy Initiative organised a series of workshops bringing together research communities working on landscape studies from different perspectives. Discussions at these events contributed to the development of this report.