The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community
benefits to the local people and attracted international funding including support from the
World Monuments Fund for terrace restoration and re-use. One of the most important pro -
gramme initiatives is a system of renting out terraces to people in the city to create a fund that is
used to maintain the dry stone walls that support the steep terrain above the villages. Sub -
sequently, a national park was created which covers most (but not all) of the World Heritage
cultural landscape. The protection of the site was enhanced and research institutions such as the
University of Genoa became involved in providing assistance in management planning. With
the creation of the national park, a train transport system was developed along the seaside
which allows visitors to move easily between the picturesque villages, the main tourist
attractions, and to hike along the seaside trail. The system provides financial support for the
park as each ticket is also an entry ticket into the site. Most important for the local economy is
the development of specific value-added landscape products, including wine, olives, juice,
marmalade and other agri cultural produce, which are proudly marketed by the locals using a
Cinque Terre label that includes a World Heritage logo. Consumers of these place-specific
products understand that by purchasing them they are supporting the preservation of a World
Heritage cultural landscape, its communities, and their centuries-old land use traditions.
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras were included in the World Heritage List in
1995 and represent another agricultural landscape of particularly unique and dramatic scenic
value of small terraces on steep mountainsides (see Villalón in this volume). This site
represents an interaction between people and their natural environment over generations. In
2001 the rice terraces were included on the World Heritage In Danger list despite efforts to
safeguard the property by the Banaue Rice Terraces Task Force (BRTTF) and Ifugao Terraces
Commission (ITC). The BRTTF lacks full government support and, to be effective, needs more
resources, greater independence and an assurance of permanence. About 25–30% of the
terraces are now abandoned, which has led to damage to some of the walls. This situation has
arisen because sections of the irrigation system have been neglected, due to people leaving the
area. Most of the site is privately owned and traditionally managed.
The Qadisha Valley (Lebanon)
The Qadisha Valley is a site mentioned in the Bible for its sacred cedars. It is an interesting
cultural landscape example, as it was initially nominated as a natural property – The Cedar
Forest of Lebanon – but was not recommended by the advisory body IUCN due to its small size
and integrity issues. Subsequently the property was presented as a cultural landscape and
inscribed in 1998 as a site of monastic settlements since the earliest years of Christianity,
following a joint ICOMOS-IUCN evaluation mission to the site. It has currently no protected
area status nationally but is located between two nature Reserves (Horsh Ehden and
Tannourine Nature Reserves). A local association is working for improved protection of the
site and the World Heritage Committee in June 2003 requested better legal protection,
management coordination, establishment of a nature reserve and development of a manage -
ment plan.
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