Abstract
The landscape has been described as a ‘blind spot’ when examined in light of regional strategies. The immense potential of peri-urban and rural hinterlands to counter the climate emergency is therefore also overlooked. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)Climate-KIC’s (Knowledge and Innovation Community) System and sustainable Approach to virTuous interaction of Urban and Rural LaNdscapes (SATURN) aims to address this short-sightedness. The reason why we do not see or value the landscape is complex, but part of the problem relates to its multiple ownership, numerous types and scales of conflicting designations, governance structures, policy requirements, and regulatory frameworks. This leads to an approach that is fragmented and sectoral and, therefore, fails to see the bigger picture or recognise the value that the territory has in order to deal with current environmental challenges. With partners from across Europe, the pan-European Orchestrated Ecosystem research project co-funded by EIT Climate-KIC, SATURN aims to develop new integrated strategies which will increase awareness of the capacity of the landscape, which is seen is seen as a vital way to address the deepening climate emergency. SATURN anticipates that the outputs will build capacity across Europe to help nation-states meet the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and respond to the environmental challenges. This paper, reporting on interim findings, sets out the next phase of the project and concludes with lessons learned so far, including an initial identification of processes that can be applied in regions across Europe and an evaluation of the significance of exchanging knowledge between different countries.
Highlights
With partners from across Europe, the pan-European Orchestrated Ecosystem research project co-funded by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Climate-KIC, SATURN aims to develop new integrated strategies which will increase awareness of the capacity of the landscape, which is seen is seen as a vital way to address the deepening climate emergency
SATURN is co-funded by EIT and Climate-KIC, as well as the cities and institutions forming the consortium from November 2018 to December 2021
The significance of the stakeholder mapping and analysis using a visual tool has been proved to be immensely important in the way that it has revealed hidden stakeholders and even misconceptions between team members and across hubs
Summary
This paper forms part of the broader SATURN project, looking at the governance of nature and landscapes. Aligning with the goals of the Sustainable Land Use theme of EIT Climate-KIC, its underlying assumption is that a comprehensive vision supported by a cross-sectoral approach is needed to support cities to create resilient urban–rural networks It anticipates that through the project, each city–region will absorb this new knowledge into their local governance structures. The second tier, utilizing an ecosystem service methodology and the mapping of natural capital, aims to create a set of tools to evaluate existing and future potential of the interfaces between urban and rural landscapes to make evident the wider benefits of the entire landscape This second tier identifies all the connected and inter-dependent stakeholders, some of which will be already known, but many will be new, as they have been hidden from view. SATURN examines similar questions on the European scale, investigating the process of decision-making as well as the role of multidisciplinary teams in addressing the way in which rural and peri-urban landscapes are managed
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