Bringing together nature and culture: integrating a landscape approach in protected areas policy and practice

Taking a landscape approach to conservation requires us to embrace the complex diversity inherent in these places: recognizing natural and cultural values, tangible and intangible heritage, and history and present-day uses. Such an approach is interdisciplinary and inclusive, linking nature and culture and engaging people in stewardship. This contribution explores emerging trends that support the landscape approach in protected areas policy and practice. Reflecting on various milestone events over the past decade, it briefly reviews key conceptual and policy developments that reinforce collaborative and community governance of protected areas and of the broader landscape/seascape. It discusses the recent review of the IUCN protected area management categories and emergence of the governance framework in protected areas. It notes the growing adoption at national and provincial levels of protected landscapes designations based on IUCN Category V and, in parallel, the use of the World Heritage cultural landscape designation.