International Conference on Landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean

International Conference on Landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean: Challenges, Opportunities, Prospects and Accomplishments

Under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali, the German Jordanian University GJU and the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature RSCN organized the international conference on “Landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean: challenges opportunities, prospects and accomplishments”.  The Conference is conducted on 13th and 14th of December 2015 as the closing event of the MEDSCAPES Project-“Development of Landscape character assessment as a tool for effective conservation of natural heritage in the Eastern Mediterranean”, and was attended by a large number of landscape stakeholders from the region and a number of European countries.

This conference is an opportunity to build new partnerships and extend existing ones, and opens an opportunity for new cooperation and project results capitalizations prospects.

H.R.H Princess Basma expressed her utmost delight to visit GJU and participate in this International Conference on Landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean; and said that the Medscape approach of developing landscape character assessment will be instrumental in effectively conserving our natural heritage.

She further emphasized that Medscape Project will help integrate what Islam has taught us all along, and we as humans are the stewards of the earth, and must actively work towards educating the public and raising their awareness on our natural heritage and conserve it.

Professor Manar Fayyad gladly received H.R.H Princess Basma and welcomed all the guests who came to Jordan and GJU to participate in the closing conference of the Medscapes Project, saying that it is a notable project of its content, time and place.

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Professor Fayyad pinpointed that this project is endeavor to change the way practitioners understand landscape and environment, and ultimately they apply this knowledge.  She further added that GJU is proud to be involved in Medscape and happy with the relationships that have been formed with the Medscape partners.

The representative of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature RSCN, Mr. Ghassan Asfour.extended his gratitude to H.R.H Princess Basma for accepting to hold this important conference under her patronage. He assured on the importance of this international conference, as it is an opportunity to capitalize, communicate and transfer the project outcomes to a wider range of stakeholders.

For his part, Mr. Issmat Karadsheh , Representative of ENPI  in Jordan , briefed about the ENPI CBC MED programs that are funded by the EU in order to enhance cooperation between EU  and its partner countries. He also thanked all organizers for this event and their efforts.

Prof. Nizar Abu-Jaber, Director of the Center for the Study of Natural and Cultural Heritage at GJU, said that Medscapes is an important step forward in managing natural and cultural landscapes in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Jordan, and it was a source of joy for CSNACH to be of this consortium and to contribute towards it’s success.

Conference thematic areas include: Progress in Mediterranean landscape science, methods and tools, Landscape-related public awareness, education and training, in the Mediterranean, Landscape, land stewardship, democracy and governance, in the Mediterranean basin, Land uses and values: tradition and change in the Eastern Mediterranean, Drivers and trends of transition in the Mediterranean, Planning, risk assessment and decision support systems, for Mediterranean landscapes.

It is worthy to mention that MEDSCAPES is funded by the multilateral cross-border cooperation “Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme”, which is a part of the new European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and its financing instrument (European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument – ENPI) for 2007-2013.

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Professor Fayyad pinpointed that this project endeavor to change the way practitioners understand landscape and environment, and ultimately apply this knowledge.  She further added that GJU is proud to be involved in Medscape and happy with the relationships that have been formed with the Medscape partners.

The representative of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature RSCN, Mr. Ghassan Asfour.extended his gratitude to H.R.H Princess Basma for accepting to hold this important conference under her patronage. He assured on the importance of this international conference, as it is an opportunity to capitalize, communicate and transfer the project outcomes to a wider range of stakeholders.

For his part, Mr. Issmat Karadsheh , Representative of ENPI  in Jordan , briefed about the ENPI CBC MED programs that are funded by the EU in order to enhance cooperation between EU  and its partner countries. He also thanked all organizers for this event and their efforts.

Prof. Nizar Abu-Jaber, Director of the Center for the Study of Natural and Cultural Heritage at GJU, said that Medscapes is an important step forward in managing natural and cultural landscapes in the eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Jordan, and it was a source of joy for CSNACH to be of this consortium and to contribute towards its success.

Conference thematic areas include: Progress in Mediterranean landscape science, methods and tools, Landscape-related public awareness, education and training in the Mediterranean, Landscape, land stewardship, democracy and governance, in the Mediterranean basin, Land uses and values: tradition and change in the Eastern Mediterranean, Drivers and trends of transition in the Mediterranean, Planning, risk assessment and decision support systems, for Mediterranean landscapes.

It is worthy to mention that MEDSCAPES is funded by the multilateral cross-border cooperation “Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme”, which is a part of the new European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and its financing instrument (European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument – ENPI) for 2007-2013.

Shalimar Sinno and Bassima Khatib represented SPNL in the closing event of the MEDSCAPE project and highlighted the important achievements done by SPNL in promoting the Hima approach as a methodology for conserving distinctive landscapes in the partner countries.