Keynote Speakers Landscape Forum Zagreb
Silvia Weidenbacher: Landscape Park Stuttgart Region. An outstanding example of Green Infrastructure in the heart of Europe
Silvia Weidenbacher, landscape architect, Suttgart Greater Region
The goal of the Stuttgart Region Landscape Park is to safeguard the existing landscape pattern of forests, fields, vineyards, orchards, meadows, ravines and river valleys and to create a network of attractive, accessible, welcoming and diverse open spaces. Enhancing and interweaving the open spaces will increase the quality of life of the population. The Stuttgart Region is home to 2.7 million people. The regional economy is very strong and the economic success of the urban centres creates high pressures on scarce resources. Both the expanding industry and the housing needs of a rising population require space and lead to a continuing process of urbanisation at the fringes of the municipalities. To preserve the attractivity of the region for all groups of inhabitants a counterweight is necessary. That’s why the Landscape Park integrates the green infrastructure into the overall development of the region and underlines its potential as locational factor that is worth preserving and improving.
Silvia Weidenbacher is senior landscape architect at the Stuttgart Region’s planning department. She is responsible for green infrastructure planning and adaption to climate change, including the management of European and national funding projects.
Sanja Lješković-Mitrović: Development and impact of the European Landscape Convention in Southeastern Europe
Sanja Lješković Mitrović, landscape architect, Montenegro
Sanja Ljeskovic-Mitrovic is Chair of the Council of Europe Conference on the European Landscape Convention, from 2017 – onwards. She was Deputy Minister for Spatial Planning in the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism, Montenegro from 2011 until 2016, with the goal to create a proactive and integrative spatial planning system that facilitates more sustainable development. In that period, the ministry developed important documents for the implementation of the European Landscape Convention such as a Manual for Landscaping Planning, Identifying and Mapping of Montenegro’s Landscapes. From 2004 until 2011 she has worked for GIZ (GTZ) – German Technical Cooperation, Municipal Land Management Project Engineer for Spatial and Urban Planning. Sanja Ljeskovic Mitrovic is a member of National Commission for UNESCO of Montenegro, member, manager and one of the founders of National Committee ICOMOS Montenegro, Chair of the Association of Landscape Architects of Montenegro.
Professor Nenad Buzjak: The Zagreb Landscape: Landscape as a driver for strategic plannnig
Professor Nenad Buzjak, University of Zagreb
Nenad Buzjak is professor at the Department of Geography atthe Faculty of Science of University of Zagreb since 2009. His main research topics are in the area of physical geography – geomorphology, speleology and microclimatology. He has led or participated in a series of scientific and professional projects with topics in geomorphology, speleology, hydromorphology and landscape ecology. In 2015 he was co-researcher on the study “Analysis and evaluation of development potential and restrictions on the suburban and rural areas of City of Zagreb” and in 2018 on the study “Analysis and evaluation of development potential and limitations of Zagreb Urban Agglomeration”, both made on Department of Geography for the City Office for the Strategic Planning and Development of the City (Zagreb).
Nenad Starc: Landscape and Economy – The Zagreb Perspective
Nenad Starc, emiritus Zagreb Institute of Economics
Nenad Starc is a researcher and consultant in the field of regional economics specialising in island development, spatial planning and local development programming. He holds a MA degree from the University of California Berkeley and a doctoral degree from The University of Zagreb.
He was a senior research fellow (now emeritus) at the Institute of Economics Zagreb and Head of the Department of Regional Economics. His activities span from scientific research, mentoring, preparation and evaluation of local and regional development strategies and programmes, advising ministries and government agencies to teaching on a number of postgraduate studies at universities of Zagreb, Rijeka and Split in Croatia.
He is the member of the Executive Committee of the International Small Island Studies Association (ISISA). He advised the Croatian Ministry of Development and Reconstruction and coordinated the preparation of the National Island Development Programme (1997), the Island Act (1999) and the new Island Act (2018). In the period 2013-2015 he worked on projects on Integrated Coastal Zone Management commissioned by the Regional Center for the UNEP Priority Action Plans in the Mediterranean. He is active in a couple of Croatian NGO’s dealing with island development.