Is there a future for cultural landscapes?

Cultural landscapes, in a nomenclatural sense, are an IUCN Protected Area category, a special sub-set of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, and a concept in landscape ecology. Various authors have recently indicated the essentially cultural nature of all landscapes, even using the term biocultural landscape. It is perhaps a truism that all landscapes are cultural, it just being a matter of degree. We argue that cultural landscapes are in fact special and recognizable, that they do exist, and that they have a clear future as part of the multifunctional tapestry of European landscapes. The major factor in the identification and maintenance of cultural landscapes is the understanding of the world views that have shaped them. The key issue for the future is what policy settings are needed to ensure their survival in the face of environmental homogenization, as part of the general process of globalization.

Keywords: cultural landscape; IUCN Protected Area categories; landscape management