European Topic Centre for Land Use and Spatial Information opens in Barcelona

Published: Jun 07, 2007 Last modified: Apr 13, 2011

The new European Topic Centre for Land Use and Spatial Information (ETC/LUSI) was inaugurated today at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. The European Environment Agency's Executive Director, Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, joined the Spanish Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona, and dignitaries from both Catalonia and Andalucia for the event. ETC/LUSI is an international consortium assisting the European Environment Agency in its mission to deliver information on the state and trends of the European environment to policy-makers and the general public. The consortium will also work with Spanish authorities and organisations, helping to reflect pan-European developments at regional and national level.

We are delighted to have ETC/LUSI expand its role to land use and spatial planning, and would like to offer our gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Environment, the Generalitat of Catalonia and Junta De Andalucia for helping to make this happen.

Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency

'EU policy developments in territorial cohesion and spatial perspectives have never been more intensive than today. I have no doubt that the contributions of ETC/LUSI will prove invaluable', says Prof. Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency.

The centre is a 'network of networks' in the field of land use and spatial planning, 'bridging the gap' between scientific research and decision-making communities. The consortium's agenda is driven by the main policy needs within environment, sectoral integration and planning in Europe. 10 core European partners are involved and the consortium is led by the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. ETC/LUSI has a 4-year contract with the EEA.

For more information, see: ETC/LUSI

Most human activities have a major impact on land and soil. Therefore, an understanding of the implications of changes in land cover and land use is a key part of planning for sustainable development. Spatial analysis is a set of techniques used to analyse these changes and related impacts, not only in a particular area of concern but also in nearby regions.