The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

11. Cultural landscapes of the Andes
Problematique
Beresford and Phillips (2000) call for a model for conservation in the 21 st century based on
cultural landscapes. Green (1989) had already claimed the need to move into geo-ecological
approaches, incorporating the lifestyle, practices and costumes particularly when dealing with
rural landscapes, where the divide between the natural and the cultural has always being
blurred. A few years earlier, the notion of Protected Landscapes was already instrumental
within IUCN in allowing development of a new system of conservation categories, whereby the
action of humans seemed to be conducive to maintaining, and as a matter of fact, creating
biodiversity (Lucas, 2001). In a recent publication in the IUCN Best Practice Guidelines series,
Phillips (2002) offers guidelines for the application of Category V Protected Landscapes
worldwide.
However, for the Andean region, or other areas in South America, the literature is scarce. In
2002, the World Heritage Centre published a book on Cultural Landscapes of the Andes,
followed by the 2002 publication of the Mesoamerican Cultural Landscapes, both publications
as proceedings from regional meetings discussing the notion of world heritage and cultural
landscapes.
Until quite recently, countries of the Andean region adopted the “national park model” to
create and manage protected areas. The preservation of large areas of “unspoiled nature”
through ownership of land has often excluded local and indigenous people from planning and
implementation processes, and has ignored the importance of their traditional practices in
contributing to the great diversity of cultural landscapes found in the Andes, making clear the
separation of societal and natural purposes for conservation of biological resources (Sarmiento
et al., 2000). Typically, protected area authorities have emphasised the use of Western science
and management practices and the involvement of formally trained experts. In the process, the
valuable knowledge and practices of indigenous peoples and other local communities in -
habiting these landscapes have largely been ignored. Paraphrasing IUCN’s Programme on
Protected Areas (Phillips, 2003b) a ‘protectionist’ mentality persists in the manage ment of
protected areas in South America, and successful work with local communities has seldom
been achieved. Systematic methodologies to bring about the efficient participation of local
people have not yet been developed (Sarmiento, 2003).
The Ruta Sagrada del Cóndor-Wiracocha initiative presents a new paradigm. It is being
developed by a network of indigenous peoples from seven countries (Sarmiento et al., 2000).
Indigenous communities will be in charge of protected area establishment and manage ment,
within a regime that aims to conserve biological and cultural diversity through a more
integrative approach. Incorporating the diverse ecosystems of the Andes, which are linked
through historic and ecological attributes, the proposed route will extend from Venezuela to
Chile, covering the historic pre-Hispanic Andean region, based on the ancient Wiracocha
route. This pre-Hispanic route, which linked sacred sites, cities, areas of high biodiversity and
ceremonial centres in a line spanning the Incan Empire, was devised by the wise man
Wiracocha, according to Andean folk lore.
The proposed Ruta Sagrada del Cóndor-Wiracocha will follow a network of cultural
landscapes where traditional agriculture predominates, and where efforts are underway to
achieve protection according to the principles of the IUCN category V designation. These
protected landscapes will link focal points along the route. For the purposes of this project,
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