Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Moreover, the ECONET Project incorporated the ecological network idea into
regional and local policies, for example the Regional Planning Guidance and
Community Strategy in Cheshire, and the Provincial Territorial Plan of the
Provinces of Bologna and Modena, that was further developed into the Emilia
Romagna Regional Territorial Strategy. The project thus far has been a milestone
for the application of ecological networks throughout Europe (Pungetti
2009a
) and
received widespread recognition including a showcase at the World Summit in
Johannesburg in 2002 and a WWF Golden Panda in 2004.
The establishment of ecological networks in Europe has required some of the
most advanced applications of the principles of landscape ecology to land use
planning (Bennett
1991
; Jongman et al.
2011
). Developments in this field, com-
bining theoretical concepts of landscape ecology with the practice of landscape
planning and management, were illustrated in the ECONET Research (Jongman
and Pungetti
2004
,
2011
).
In addition to biological and physical considerations important to biodiversity
protection and restoration, cultural and aesthetic issues are equally important to
illustrate how sympathetic land use policies can be implemented. Examples were
analysed for large scale areas such as Estonia (Remm et al.
2004
), as well as
regional areas such as Milan (Massa et al.
2004
), and it was demonstrated that
networks and greenways have relevance not only to landscape and biodiversity
conservation, but also to the planning process.
Both the ECONET Project and ECONET Research, conversely, supported a
multifunctional landscape with (a) a particular view to socio-ecological heritage;
(b) an integrative approach and a holistic model, and (c) a co-occurrence principle
where landscape serves multiple demands.
4.3 Cultural Landscape and Heritage
'A cultural landscape is fashioned from a natural landscape by a culture group.
Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium. The cultural landscape is the
result' (Sauer
1963
, 343). Besides, cultural landscape can be seen as the 'combined
works of nature and of man' (UNESCO
2008
, 14). Moreover, with the assertion
that landscape is 'an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of
the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors' (Council of Europe
2000
, 3) the European Landscape Convention bridges both cultural and natural
aspects of landscape, expanding to its social dimension. With this in mind, the
EUCALAND Project 'European Culture expressed in Agricultural Landscapes' of
the EC Culture Programme fostered cooperation between the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Council of
Europe in the area of agricultural landscape.
The vision of the project was for Europeans to recognise agricultural landscapes
as a significant part of their cultural heritage. These landscapes therefore have been
investigated in the light of the meanings that people have for them, and then
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