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preFace
The growing use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), unquestionably impor-
tant for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, is leading to an increasing
awareness about their compatibility with landscape and heritage preservation
policies. It is a fact that the energy sector will keep increasing its influence on
territory and landscape, not only with the plants themselves (wind farms, solar
fields, energy crop fields, etc.), but also with the infrastructures serving them
(roads, distribution lines, etc.).
ENERSCAPES aimed to investigate and evaluate impacts on distinct but recur-
ring patterns of landscape all over the Mediterranean regions. The main output
of the project is the definition of a Local Action Plan for each pilot area, defined
with a common methodology but also adapted to different contexts, able to sup-
port territories in developing RES accordingly to landscape values.
The MED project has been coordinated by MIEMA (Malta Intelligent Energy
Management Agency, Malta), with the participation of an international partner-
ship composed by: Lazio Region (Italy), Region of Thessaly (Greece), Province of
Vercelli (Italy), Cyprus Energy Agency (Cyprus), Rhônalpénergie-Environnement
(France), University of Maribor (Slovenia), Regional Ministry of Environment and
Territorial Planning, Andalusia (Spain).
The kick-off meeting was held in Malta in July 1st-2nd 2010, with the aim of de-
fining the project committees and the specific goals and attended results of the
first phase of the project. The project ended in May 2013, with an international
conference where the results of the entire process and the future perspectives
have been presented and discussed by partners and invited experts. After the
end of the project, partners will work at local level for the implementation of
the Local Action Plans and at national and international level to capitalise its
