The Convention was opened for signature in Florence on 20 October 2000, and Poland ratified it on 27 September 2004. It came into force on 1 January 2005. Convention is part of the Council of Europe's work on the protection of natural and cultural heritage, spatial planning and environment.

The aim of the Convention is to promote protection, management and planning of all landscapes and to organize European cooperation on this issue based on exchange of experiences, experts and creating good landscape practices.

The Convention treats landscape as an important element of people's life living everywhere: in rural and urban areas, on the territories where landscapes might be considered outstanding as well as everyday or degraded - that is why it applies to the entire territory of Poland.
In order to implement the provisions of the Convention the Parties undertake activities aiming at identification of their landscapes, raising the public awareness, defining quality objectives of landscapes and cooperation in transboundary context. To promote practices aimed at protection, management and planning of all landscapes the Landscape Award of Council of Europe has been established - it is awarded to local and regional authorities, their groupings or NGOs.

Measures for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention in Poland

National Secretariat of the Landscape Convention
sekretariat.krajobrazowa@gdos.gov.pl