Challenges for a shared European countryside of uncertain future. Towards a modern community based landscape perspective

This paper addresses current changes in the highly diverse European landscape, and the way these transitions are being treated in policy and landscape management in the fragmented, heterogeneous and dynamic context of today’s Europe. It appears that intersecting driving forces are increasing the complexity of European landscapes and causing polarising developments in agricultural land use, biodiversity conservation and cultural landscape management. On the one hand, multifunctional rural landscapes, especially in peri-urban regions, provide services and functions that serve the citizens in their demand for identity, support their sense of belonging and offer opportunities for recreation and involvement in practical landscape management. On the other hand, industrial agricultural production on increasingly large farms produces food, feed, fibre and energy to serve expanding international markets with rural live ability and accessibility as a minor issue. The intermediate areas of traditionally dominant small and family farms in Europe seem to be gradually declining in profitability. The paper discusses the potential of a governance approach that can cope with the requirement of optimising land-sharing conditions and community-based landscape development, while adapting to global market conditions.

Evolução da paisagem de montado na área abrangida pelo EFMA: caso de estudo no concelho de Beja

A construção da Barragem de Alqueva foi durante anos considerada como fundamental no desenvolvimento da sustentabilidade e modernização da agricultura no Alentejo. Por outro lado a sua representação paisagística sempre se agregou a imagens de uma agricultura de sequeiro e extensiva mas hoje estamos perante uma agricultura regada e intensiva, tendo as alterações na agricultura levantado questões relativas à transformação da paisagem desta região. Na atual campanha de rega do Alqueva está previsto no sistema global de rega do projeto um total de 120 mil hectares de regadio, no entanto já existem estudos que possibilitam o aumento desta área, cerca de 45 mil hectares além do projeto inicial (EDIA, acesso em 23-2-2016) Desta forma pretende-se analisar a transformação da ocupação do solo, numa área abrangida pelo EFMA, o concelho de Beja, de modo a perceber como essa transformação ao longo do tempo tem incidido sobre a paisagem e afetado o Montado; EVOLUÇÃO DA PAISAGEM DE MONTADO NA ÁREA ABRANGIDA PELO EFMA C a s o d e E s t u d o n o C o n c e l h o d e B e j a A B S T R A C T: The construction of the Alqueva Dam was fundamental to the sustainable development and modernization of agriculture in the Alentejo. On the other hand its landscape representation has always added an image of an extensive and cutting agriculture but today we are facing a irrigated and intensive agriculture, having as changes in agriculture raised questions related to the transformation of the landscape of the region. In the current irrigation campaign of Alqueva is planned for a total of 120 thousand hectares of irrigation, there are no studies that allow the increase of the area, about 45 thousand hectares beyond the initial project (EDIA, access On 23-2-2016) In this way we intend to analyze a transformation of the land occupation, in an area covered by the EFMA, the Beja municipality, in order to understand how this transformation over time has affected a landscape and affected the Montado.

Valuing landscape identity of local inhabitants through a tourism discourse

Landscape, people and identity Landscape is about the interaction of a place or an area with people, which is reflected in the material interaction of people creating or shaping the landscape as well as in their mental perception, valuation and symbolic meaning of that landscape (Cosgrove 1998). This mutual and dynamic interaction forms the fundamental principle of the concept of landscape identity. Landscape identity has been described in scientific literature as a concept to bridge the physical, social and cultural aspects of landscapes. Also policy documents related with landscape and heritage (for example the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the European Landscape Convention, the Faro Convention) are mentioning identity and landscape as key concepts. In those examples, landscape identity can refer to either the landscape itself - its features that makes the landscape unique (thus the landscape character), or to the social and personal construction. However, there is an interdependency between those two perspectives that needs to be conceptualised. Landscape identity is therefore defined as the multiple ways and dynamic relation between landscape and people (Loupa Ramos et al 2016).

TURISMO, PAISAGEM E CLIMA NA ILHA DA MADEIRA

A paisagem e o clima são dois elementos essenciais para o desenvolvimento do turismo em muitas regiões. Por outro lado, podem constituir fortes elementos de atracção turística e, também, funcionam como atributos especiais para a promoção turística de uma cidade ou vila. Em muitos casos, a paisagem e o clima influem no processo de decisão do turista sobre o destino que pretende visitar. É no clima e na exuberância da paisagem que se encontra um dos maiores atractivos turísticos da Ilha da Madeira. Por isso, tanto a paisagem como o clima são recursos de grande valor na consolidação da oferta turística. O presente artigo pretende analisar a importância da paisagem e do clima na promoção do destino Madeira.