THE CONSERVATION OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

The conservation and management of cultural landscapes, interpreted as the result of the interrelationships among economic, social and environmental factors through time and space, emerges as essential components in the definition and application of a modern approach to sustainable development. Cultural landscapes are the result of management practices and knowledge accumulated in human history and contribute not only to the cultural heritage of the world, but also to biodiversity and aesthetic beauty, providing also multiple goods and services for the development of rural areas. However, landscapes are severely endangered not only by some effects of the socioeconomic development, but also by inappropriate policies in agriculture, forestry and nature conservation. This interdisciplinary book presents a range of different methods developed to analyse, restore and manage cultural landscapes, reporting a number of case studies from Europe and north America, but raising some questions about the need for a revision of some past orientations.