Enhancing European land management via collaboration
Livelihoods and quality of life are all affected by land-use policies. Despite its importance, European land monitoring is lacking coordination among local, national, regional and EU authorities and stakeholders. The EU-funded 'Harmonised European land monitoring' (HELM) project aimed to address this deficiency. Work started with stimulating interest and communication among stakeholders and developing a joint vision for the future. Countries then took on individual tasks collectively, retaining independence but enhancing harmonisation. The countries then aggregated land monitoring data and aligned procedures and protocols ahead of Europe-wide data integration. The final step was establishing transnational collaboration across all political levels such that aggregation of LULC data becomes routine. Project members delivered several summary documents based on project experience, all freely available on the project website. The first, which serves as a basis for all subsequent documents, provides a history of European land monitoring and a detailed inventory of key activities throughout Europe. Other documents present best practices, a common strategy on land monitoring harmonisation and its societal implications, and overviews of existing cross-border cooperation and decentralised approaches. Another report helps project participants conduct joint land monitoring activities by outlining commonalities and differences concerning needs and requirements. Technical prerequisites and data compatibility are also considered to ensure permanent integration of national land monitoring activities across Europe. Lastly, a roadmap for a future integrated European land monitoring system was produced. HELM laid the groundwork for a coherent and productive European land monitoring system with high-quality land use and land cover data. Harmonised land monitoring will pave the way for better spatial planning.
Keywords
Land management, land use, land cover, land monitoring, sustainable development
