TOPIO · TOWARDS DEMOCRATIC LANDSCAPE OBSERVATION THROUGH GEOINFORMATICS AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Landscape is a key element of individual and social well-being. Although its protection, management and planning is acknowledged by the European Landscape Convention of the Council of Europe since 2000, not much has been done for this treaty's comprehensive implementation. TOPIO aims to give people an active role in decision-making on landscape by means of Citizen Science, Geoinformatics (Earth Observation and GIS), Artificial Intelligence and Public Participation to promote the area's sustainable development. - TOPIO will position the landscape as a key concept in addressing broader challenges such as the Faro Convention Plan, Aarhus Convention, UN sustainable development goals, the EU Green deal etc. - it will provide innovative, international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral training for the researchers of TOPIO partners, based on training activities and mobility actions, in a range of different disciplines - achieve advanced innovation and capacity building through developing a research and training network that will focus its activities on developing, effectively integrating, and increasing utilization of existing and emerging Landscape monitoring techniques. - reinforce the socio-cultural and environmental dimensions of the landscape and its role in defining operative and integrative frameworks supporting sustainable development at local and regional levels. Through the application of Landscape Character Assessment methodologies in seven European countries - exchange information on landscape policies and peoples experience concerning protection, management and planning, public participation and implementation at different scales and levelsTOPIO will integrate and synthesize project findings suitable for awareness raising, readily communicable to a wide audience, and relevant for policy negotiations. Furthermore, the project will maintain a dialogue with relevant stakeholders and will provide recommendations for policy makers.