Protected landscapes

This is the second volume in the new series on the Value of Protected Landscapes and Seascapes. Each volume in the series will explore the different values that this category provides through a set of case studies preceded by a synthesis section discussing the lessons to be learnt. This volume breaks new ground by documenting, on a global scale, the non-material values that are to be found in protected landscapes.

This new series of publications on the values of Protected Landscapes and Seascapes is intended to document and spell out the various environmental, economic, social and cultural values that Category V protected areas can provide. The first volume addresses the topic of agrobiodiversity. Since they are lived-in, working landscapes, Category V protected areas would appear to provide a potential mechanism for conserving agrobiodiversity.

The traditional patterns of land use that have created many of the world’s cultural landscapes contribute to biodiversity, support ecological processes, provide important environmental services, and have proven sustainable over the centuries. Protected landscapes can serve as living models of sustainable use of land and resources, and offer important lessons for sustainable development.

Protected Landscapes (IUCN Protected Area Category V) are lived-in working landscapes. In the past, there has been a tendency to see them as a rather Eurocentric approach to protected areas but increasingly the category is being designated in other parts of the world, including in a number of developing countries. The Guidelines include sections on the background and on the planning of such areas, and chapters on the principles, policies, process and the means for their management.