The Brussels Chat

Informal, illuminating conversation on the centrality of an integrated approach: the day after members of our programme's Central Component had delivered a presentation on Integrated Landscape Management to EU project managers, Kim Geheb sat down with the European Commission's Head of Environment and Mainstreaming and the Policy Officer for Land and Environment to reflect on the key takeaways from the session and the comments that had turned the most heads.

The Central Component led a session at the European Commission’s 2023 INTPA-NEAR Environment and Climate Change Week in Brussels last month. Titled ‘Common Ground’, the presentation by our Central Component Coordinator, Kim Geheb, showcased the potential and realities of Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) by showcasing examples from a number of our programme’s 22 projects.

In my role as the LFF Communications Coordinator, I facilitated a Q&A session and discussion amongst the EU delegates gathered. They responded actively and revealed a clear eagerness to learn more about ILM and how to oversee successful implementation. Plus they voiced a few pertinent questions (case in point: how to deal with corruption?) that we would go on to discuss at our Global Summit later in the year.

The next day, Kim sat down with the EC’s Bernard Crabbé and Niclas Gottmann to discuss how an ILM approach can be applied across EC programming. He started by asking each what their key impressions from the session had been.