Status: Completed
Funding: ENPI-CBCMED (EU)

 

Description:
The MESCAPES project aimed to raise awareness about the concept of landscapes in the eastern Mediterranean, and to introduce an innovative methodology known as landscape character assessment (LCA) as a tool for effective landscape management in the partner countries. The partner countries were Cyprus (Laona Foundation and the Open University of Cyprus), Greece (University of the Aegean), Lebanon (Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon and the American University of Beirut), and Jordan (Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and the German Jordanian University).

The project contained many components that involved the implementation of LCA in pilot areas within the partner countries, training of professionals in LCA, raising awareness of the different stakeholders on the importance of landscapes, and capitalization of the results. GJU was responsible for developing educational materials for graduate-level courses in LCA and was also involved in the LCA implementation within the pilot areas in Jordan in cooperation with the RSCN. Thus, the Jordanian part of the Yarmouk River Basin was mapped using the LCA methodology, while the RSCN mapped the Mujib river basin.

 

In way of disseminating the methodology and the accompanying awareness that it entails, stakeholders and decision-makers were heavily involved through a variety of workshops, seminarslectures, a training course, and the final MEDSCAPES conference. The purpose of these activities was to both disseminate the methodology and to encourage its adoption in land use planning in Jordan and throughout the partner countries. Some of the details of the project can be found here.