The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community
protection of landscapes so vital, and at the same time so challenging. It requires an approach
that is interdisciplinary, inclusive, and that engages people and communities.
The protected landscape approach
The concept of a protected landscape approach emerged in a workshop held at the V th World
Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa (September 2003) and in discussions among members
of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Protected Landscapes Task
Force. Participants found that, while Category V Protected Landscapes and Seascapes are the
primary tool for creating these areas, strategies to protect landscapes are often broader than a
single designation, typically drawing on a combination of protected area designations and
tools. Importantly, these strategies must respond to the local context and its cultural, natural and
social features.
As places that have been shaped by the interactions between people and the land, protected
landscapes rely on proces ses that sustain this relation ship. With that in mind, the term protected
landscape approach is used in this vol ume, encompassing the diverse stra tegies needed to achieve
this chal lenging goal, examples of which are presented in this book.
The protected landscape approach recognises that the cultural and natural values of land scapes
are inextricably linked, and that the communities liv ing in or near these landscapes are central to
sustaining them. It embraces the central role of indigenous and local com munities as stewards of
the land scape, and puts them at the heart of management of these protected areas, sharing in the
benefits and responsi bilities of conservation. It is an inclus ive approach, relying on participatory
The Sacred Valley of the Incas (Peru),
whose agricultural landscape was
shaped by pre-Colombian Inca cultures,
today is managed by Quechua
communities who have created El
Parque de la Papa, or Potato Park. The
traditional patterns of land use that have
created this cultural landscape
contribute to biodiversity, support
ecological processes, and have proven
sustainable over centuries.
Alejandro Argumedo
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