The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia - Celebrating the first 15 years!

The Landscape Observatory of Catalonia is celebrating its 15 year anniversary. Past IFLA President Martha Fajardo has written the following tribute. 

"This anniversary has coincided at a time of enormous global challenges and social uncertainties, and here the landscape can help us more than ever to define the principles of contemporary societies, as expressed a few days ago in the excellent conferences they organized at IFLA, and that we are following closely ”.     Pere Sala I Marti, director Landscape Observatory of Catalonia

‘On behalf of the Landscape Architects family and the Latin American Landscape Initiative we want to give special thanks to Pere Sala, director of the Observatory, and his wonderful team Laura Puigbert, Anna Jiménez, Montse Vila, Jordi Grau, Gemma Bretcha, and Anna Montero for the extraordinary work and support in these fifteen years.

I remember from IFLA the start of the Observatory in 2005 and the participation of the European community, growing and consolidating along with Council of Europe the European Landscape Convention. Fifteen years of a dream led by Joan Nogue, Florencio Zoido, Jaume Busquets, Oriol Nello and many others visionaries, today the Observatory has established itself as the center of study and monitoring of the evolution of landscapes not only in Catalonia, in Spain, in Europe, as in many places in Latin America.

Fifteen years of commitment in the social construction of the landscape ...

Fifteen years of studying, cataloging, valuing the landscape, promoting protection and management measures within the framework of sustainable development, and what better reward for such hard work, the whole lot achieved.

Today the Landscape Observatory of Catalonia is an permanent reference, you are our inspiration, a DNA, and a point of reference in the matter of safeguarding the landscape.

Congratulations and thanks forever!’

Martha Fajardo, Ex-President and Honorary Member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) and Cofounder and chair of the Latin American Landscape Initiative (LALI)