THEMES



There will be four themes in the focus of the conference:

1. Lessons of the past: landscape change as a trigger for future strategies

Through the years and centuries landscapes have always been changing. As a consequence, the dynamics of cultural landscapes has always been an important issue in the study of landscape history. An important question is how this dynamical view on landscape history can be made operational in future strategies for the protection, management and development of cultural landscapes. What lessons can be learned from the past? Which conceptual models and scientific methods can be used to understand the long term change of landscapes and how can they be applied in landscape management?

2. Language of the rural landscapes

Who is involved in the landscape and how is it expressed? How do local people perceive, understand and participate in the landscapes? What can we read of the places and placenames? What is the ethic and the moral in the landscape, who decides? Which are the symbols and meanings people use in the rural landscapes? Why some landscapes are called rural and some not?

3. Ecology of the rural landscapes

What is the role of nature in the rural landscapes? How have the rural landscapes been formed and modified? How can historical ecology help to solve the current problems? Are there analogues in the past?

4. Future of the rural landscapes

The current socio-economic changes have put an increased pressure on the European rural landscapes. Processes such as marginalisation on one hand and rural-urban transition on the other pose a serious threat to the landscapes we know now. What is the outcome of these processes? What is the role of agriculture and cultural heritage in the future rural landscapes? How can historical geography contribute to management?