The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

The Protected Landscape Approach: Linking Nature, Culture and Community
World Heritage sites generally are cornerstones of national and international conservation
strategies. World Heritage cultural landscapes have provided a new interpretation of the
“combined works of nature and man” in the World Heritage Convention. Adrian Phillips has
traced the paradigm changes over the decades since the first World Parks Congress, and a
parallel development has occurred in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention
(Phillips, 2003a).
Although much progress has been made, new challenges lie ahead and there are several
opportunities to be considered including to:
create new institutional linkages between international instruments and also networks
among protected area agencies to fully explore the relationships between the different
categories and protection systems. Such complementary relationships might be formal -
ized through close links between the World Heritage Convention and other international
agreements such as the European Landscape Convention;
enhance new partnerships, as recommended by the Venice celebration on thirty years of
the World Heritage Convention (see UNESCO, 2003 and further discussion below);
enlarge the circle to share information about protected area systems and cultural land -
scapes, in particular on achievements, success stories and model cases; and
explore World Heritage best practice sites as cornerstones for sustainable local and
regional development.
World Heritage can be considered a role model paralleling the development of the IUCN
Category V Protected Landscape/Seascape. In cultural landscapes specifically, the local com -
munities are acknowledged with the (co-)responsibility in managing the sites. However, as we
can see from the examples there are many challenges lying ahead as cultural landscapes are
dynamic systems and have to be economically and socially viable to survive. Some of the
challenges, however, go beyond the means of the local communities. The effects of EU
enlargement on agricultural change and economic relations, the impacts of mining and oil
exploration, the rapid social changes through continued urbanization and sprawl, pollution and
environmental degradation require new collaborative efforts and partnerships. Even so, the
catalytic effect of landscape designations cannot be underestimated, as they can have an
immediate effect on cultural identity and pride, and on potential partnerships and innovative
conservation approaches.
The participants in the international workshop Cultural Landscapes – the Challenges of
Conservation at the occasion of the 30 th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention in
Ferrara (Italy, November 2002), concluded that “Cultural landscape management and conser -
vation processes bring people together in caring for their collective identity and heritage, and
provide a shared local vision within a global context. Local communities need therefore to be
involved in every aspect of the identification, planning and management of the areas, as they
are the most effective guardians of the landscape heritage. The outstanding landscapes are
selected examples, which could offer stewardship models in effective management and
excellence in conservation practices” (UNESCO, 2003).
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