The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community
supportive social structures. It is about learning from “test beds” of sustainable development
that can serve as models for the wider environment. It is also about a management paradigm
that recognises people are at the heart of every conservation effort and its sustainability. It is
clear, however, that professional development cannot be disassociated from the wider process
of capacity-building and, as suggested by Beckmann (2000), “for training to be effective it has
to be linked to other strategies that can support the capacity-building process.”
The “ideal” protected landscape management team’s members have a keen awareness and
appreciation of the theoretical and philosophical basis for their work. They have a clear
understanding of the natural and cultural resources of the landscape in which they work and are
able to work with others to identify and analyse the range of tangible and intangible landscape
values within their own context. They work with others to craft and regularly review a
management plan, based on a collective vision and a strategy for the area. Critically, the
management plan highlights the need for multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral co-operation
and for collaboration between professionals and communities. The team works with a wide
range of partners and is able to implement a variety of integrated participatory planning and
management approaches. There is a good working relationship with local communities and
other stakeholders. The agency seeks feedback on its approaches and priorities; monitoring and
evaluation of effectiveness are ongoing and management is responsive and adaptive. The
structure of the agency is based on this strategy, ensuring that staff expertise is comprehensive
and complementary. The strategy is supported by specific policies, objectives and work
programmes. All levels of staff are appraised on their performance, and staff training and
development are a regular and integral part of the agency’s functions. The agency is part of a
national and international network that exchanges information and expertise.
The demands of this protected landscape approach are clearly considerable and effective -
ness can only be achieved with the support of rigorous training and professional skills
development, focussed on improving the performance both of the individual and of the
organization, within a strategic framework. The foregoing discussion reveals that while there
are various tools for achieving this, there is a shortage of institutions for delivery. While some
excellent initiatives have been illustrated, there is undoubtedly a need for further opportunities
and these need to be made more accessible to staff at all levels. Fundamentally, building a high
level of professionalism is critical if we are to achieve conservation of natural and cultural
resources within a framework of sustainable development.
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