Linkages among Landscape Assessment, Quality of Life and Environmental SecurityHotel Tiziano, Centro Congressi, Lecce

The NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS) was established in 1969 in order to give new "social dimension" and peaceful use to the defence Alliance. Its focus was to address practical problems already under study at the national level and, by combining the expertise and technology available in member countries, arrive fairly rapidly at valid conclusions and to make recommendations for action to benefit all. One of the most important advantages of CCMS is the fact that it represents a unique forum for discussion of environmental problems and the exchange of information, on both civilian and military environmental matters. CCMS carries its research activities out on a decentralised basis through its pilot studies. Subjects for pilot studies cover a large spectrum dealing with many aspects of environmental protection and the quality of life, including defence-related environmental problems. Since the start of CCMS activities more than 65 pilot studies have been completed (see http://www.nato.int/ccms/). Each pilot country is responsible for developing, conducting, and disseminating the results of a pilot study. Co-pilot countries and other participating countries share the workload according to their interest. The participation of the 19 NATO members and of the 27 Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) countries in the pilot studies is always on a voluntary basis. As a part of the activities of the pilot study, workshops, seminars or international conferences may be held. Reports on the progress of studies are submitted to the CCMS by pilot countries at regular intervals. On completion of a study a summary report is submitted to the CCMS members and then forwarded to the North Atlantic Council. A technical report is usually also published by the pilot group and made available on a worldwide basis to anyone expressing interest. NATO countries: Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. EAPC countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyz Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Further information on CCMS can be obtained from: CCMS Secretariat NATO - Scientific Affairs Division B-1110 Brussels, Belgium Tel: (32-2) 707.48.46 or 707.48.50 Fax: (32-2) 707.42.32 http://www.nato.int/ccms/ Pilot Study on the Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment The assessment of land use and land cover is an extremely important activity for contemporary land management. Human land-use practices (including type, magnitude, and distribution) are the most important factor influencing natural resource management at local, regional, national, and global scales. Through much of the past century, forests and rangelands have been managed to assure production of timber, livestock, water, minerals, and recreational opportunities, with the primary focus on outputs rather than on the environmental condition left behind. Today’s environmental managers, urban planners, and decision-makers are increasingly expected to examine environmental and economic problems in a larger geographic context relative to 1) understanding the scales at which specific management actions are needed; 2) conceptualizing environmental management strategies; 3) formulating sets of alternatives to reduce environmental and/or economic vulnerability and uncertainty in their evaluation analyses; and 4) prioritizing, conserving, or restoring valued natural resources, especially those which provide important economic goods and services. On 22-23 March 2001 the NATO/CCMS Plenary Meeting in Brussels, Belgium accepted a proposal for the use of landscape sciences in environmental assessment developed by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The proposal was to establish a working group representative of member and partner Nations to exchange information about landscape science approaches useful for environmental assessment and to transfer landscape assessment technologies among the study group participants for use in environmental protection and preservation programs. It is anticipated that multiple geographic areas in the continental United States and Europe will be selected for demonstration study. The pilot study will explore the possibility of quantifying and assessing environmental condition, processes of land degradation, and subsequent impacts on natural and human resources by combining the advanced technologies of remote sensing, geographic information systems, spatial statistics, and process models with landscape ecology theory. It is expected that the Pilot Study will be accomplished within four years. The anticipated final product may include a book that incorporates each of the separate landscape assessments for the selected geographic areas of the NATO member and partner nations. Additionally, landscape characterization, landscape indicators, assessment software tools, and databases will be developed. The pilot project convened its first organizational meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada USA during the week of 3-5 April 2002 and later met at the Schleswig-Holstein Cultural Center near Kiel, Germany on 19-21 November 2002, and Debe, Poland, 1-3 September 2003. Currently, 20 countries have committed to the project, i.e. Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, and Australia (a non-member). The next project meeting is scheduled in Lecce, Italy, 5-9 September 2004.