Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability

Introduction:
Entry of Lisbon treaty on 1 December 2009, resulted into territorial cohesion, along with economic
and social cohesion, became a goal of the European Union as identified in the previous EU treaty
(Title XVIII). This part of the Treaty mentions the role of the structural funds and the cohesion fund,
but does not really define 'territorial cohesion'.
The Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion states that:
Territorial cohesion builds bridges between economic effectiveness,
Social cohesion and ecological balance,
Putting sustainable development at the heart of policy design.
As this study underlines, the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion need to be clearly
defined on equal terms with the economic and social elements of the concept. One potential danger
is that territorial cohesion is seen only in terms of the spending of funds to support Cohesion
Main Findings:
Territorial cohesion means furthering a more balanced and harmonious development of the
European Union. Moreover, it should ensure that its citizens were able to use and benefit from the
inherent features of their territories, but there is no one agreed definition. Territorial cohesion can
be seen as the 'spatial representation of sustainability', which would mean that assessing policies in
terms of the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion could become an important step
towards the better integration of environment and sustainability. Indeed, the environmental
dimensions of territorial cohesion need to be integrated more strongly as part of the development
of key EU policies, such as cohesion, agriculture, energy and transport.
Habitats Directive and biodiversity policy:
The Habitats Directive is very closely linked to territories: it calls for the protection of natural
habitats across Europe from Taiga forests to Mediterranean salt marshes, as well as for the
protection of wild species.
The Directive identifies Europe's 'biogeographical' regions, which cross national and other
administrative boundaries. The areas protected under the Directive can also cross boundaries, and
trans boundary impacts on these areas should be
The EU Sustainable Development Strategy:
Another key element is or could be the EU's Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS). The
European Council adopted the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development 'A Sustainable Europe for
a Better World' at Gothenburg in 2001. In June 2006, the European Council adopted a Renewed
SDS for an enlarged EU, building on the Gothenburg strategy (European Council, 2006).
The renewed SDS also identified seven priority challenges:
(a) Climate change and clean energy; (b) public health; (c) sustainable consumption and
production; (d) sustainable transport; (e) conserve and management of natural resources; (f)
social inclusion, demography and migration; (g) global poverty and sustainable development
challenges.
CASE STUDY:
Combating desertification in Spain
Project: National Action Programme (NAP) to combat desertification.
Location: Spain.
Funding: Various: no specific budget.
Partners: Various governmental and non-governmental/community based organisations throughout
Spain.
INTRODUCTION:
Recognising that desertification is a less prominent issue than other environmental problems (e.g.
climate change), and under the aegis of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the Spanish
National Action Programme (NAP) to combat desertification has focussed on participation,
communication of information and public awareness regarding the combating of desertification and
mitigation of the effects of drought. A key aim of the NAP is the introduction and inclusion of
desertification and drought into the campaigns and plans launched by the General State
Administration and regional governments, as well as into actions of professional (e.g. forest and
agrarian) and non-governmental organisations. Coordination is of particular importance, given the
decentralised nature of the Spanish political system. An example of such coordination includes the
work of the Environmental Authorities Network in the integration of environmental preservation in
every action funded by EU funds. Although it has no specific budget itself, the NAP's duty is to
promote and increase financial support given to innovative measures aimed at combating
desertification and to foster the allocation of funds to areas most affected. Within the legal
framework of the NAP, in recent years sector-specific regulations linked to combating desertification
have been elaborated or amended in the areas of agriculture, forestry and water. An example is the
implementation of 'cross compliance' in the agrarian sector, through the compulsory fulfilment of
environmental requirements in receiving direct payments under the CAP.
Environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion addressed are formulated below:
(1) The main function of the NAP is to promote the Coordination of action and policy within Spain to
combat the issues of desertification and drought.
(2) Through its encouragement and enforcement of environmental practices to combat
desertification (such as forest protection), the NAP also promotes Harmonious and sustainable
development.
(3) Recognising that the characteristics of certain areas place them at a higher risk of desertification
and drought, the NAP also seeks to address the Inherent features of territories within Spain.
The coordination and implementation of NAP in Spain overarches existing mechanisms and
organisations, in particular:
The National Commission for the Protection of the Environment;
The Sectorial Environmental Conferences;
The Advisory Environmental Council and the National Forest Council.

The impact of key environmental policies:
This section looks briefly at how several key environmental directives are affecting territorial
development and how they incorporate the environmental dimensions of territorial cohesion. The
analysis focuses on the Community level and the examples that look at cooperation among countries
and regions.
The analysis looks at four environmental policy areas that have a strong territorial dimension:
(1) Water Framework Directive;
(2) Floods Directive;
(3) Habitats Directive;
(4) Climate Change Adaptation White Paper.
Energy and transport:
For energy, key synergies include the recognition of the interdependencies among EU territories and
of the territorial dimension of energy issues. The new energy policy goals can also have important
territorial impacts, for example the use of land for biofuel and biomass production and for solar
energy generation. While energy connections among territories will improve the overall efficiency,
they will also have impacts. For energy policy, these territorial dimensions can include the impacts
produced by new infrastructure created for renewable energy generation, for example wind power
in coastal zones and solar power in southern Europe. In addition, the EU's goals to increase the share
of biofuels and biomass will affect territories throughout Europe.
For transport as well, connecting territories is an important goal. One of the major policy objectives
of the European Commission's recent paper on future transport policy calls for 'a well-maintained
and fully integrated network'. Roads and other transport infrastructure projects can also have
negative impacts on the environment, including the fragmentation of natural areas. 'The expansion
of transport infrastructure has also resulted in habitat loss and landscape fragmentation'. While the
paper emphasises the importance of reducing carbon emissions.
Conclusion:
For both energy and transport policy as well, paying attention to the environmental dimensions of
territorial cohesion will be important in terms of pursuing sustainability. Roads and other transport
infrastructure projects can also have negative impacts on the environment, including the
fragmentation of natural areas.