Elementary Schemes

The key for the successful implementation of the cohesive Strategic Plan are schemes perceived as sine qua non conditions. These are the constituents of the strategic planning process and they are indispensable for the MaNet Project because they include a wide range of measures and actions involving all stakeholders.

Research Agenda

Knowledge of the landscape is a primary step in the process of involving stakeholders whose activities influence the quality of the landscape directly. That is why a multidisciplinary survey on the landscape is a prerequisite for the implementation of the plans. Knowledge regarding the Mastorochoria must be produced according to European Landscape Convention guidelines, which include:

1. understanding the physical features of the territory in their present state and analyzing the results of the interrelation between natural and human activities;
2. studying the development of the territory, including an examination of the past, present and potential future impacts on the landscape caused by humans and/or nature;
3. a recognition of the values based on professional knowledge and ‘social perception of landscape’.

The process of knowledge production should be accompanied by creating a landscape database as a common reference framework. The in-depth survey as part of knowledge production is to be conducted in a set time frame according to the research field with the aim of getting efficient results within a strict schedule in order to analyse the characteristics of the landscape and to identify forces changing it. In the first phase the research results are to be used for developing a software platform with the essential data for the Mastorochoria Network. The research in the next phase will deliver more detailed data according to the needs of the ongoing or planned projects (COE 2008:40-46). The whole process of knowledge production has to be in accordance with the mapping of regional assets, taking into consideration the level of development of CCIs in the region (European Commission 2012:12). A close cooperation with the state as an official partner is a prerequisite for planning and implementing projects in accordancewith state and European development programmes and agendas.