Cultural Landscape Management Guidelines and International Training Program

In 1992, the World Heritage Committee recognized cultural landscapes as a new category eligible for the World Heritage List created by the World Heritage Convention, an international treaty dating from 1972. In response to the growing number of landscapes being added to the World Heritage List, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Paris), in cooperation with ICCROM/International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (Rome), initiated the preparation of management guidelines for cultural landscapes. The World Heritage Centre assembled an international team to guide this effort and to provide a nexus for an exchange network. The guidelines are scheduled for publication in 2003

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy Photo: Linas Sinkevicius

Concurrently, ICCROM, an intergovernmental organization concerned with training and conservation of cultural heritage, is adding a new emphasis on cultural landscapes to its Heritage Settlements Program. This program aims to improve the integration of cultural heritage with sustainable planning, management, and development of heritage resources associated with human settlements, both urban and rural. At the international level, the program provides a forum for sharing ideas and practices. ICCROM worked with the international team described above to design a pilot one-month training program on cultural landscapes that was offered in November 2002.