Claves para el reconocimiento de la dehesa como "paisaje cultural" de Unesco

La dehesa espa��ola y su hom��nimo portugu��s (el montado) son sistemas agrosilvopastoriles mediterr��neos que proyectan un paisaje excepcional y de elevados valores patrimoniales. Sobre ellos se ciernen nuevas o renovadas amenazas que comprometen su futuro, en un momento (el actual) de creciente revalorizaci��n socio-institucional de sus paisajes. Su declaraci��n como paisaje cultural de Unesco puede constituir un potente instrumento para atajar dichas amenazas, pero requiere de la clarificaci��n de ciertos interrogantes relacionados con las escalas. Este art��culo se adentra en el valor universal excepcional de la dehesa y propone algunas claves para sustentar su posible incorporaci��n a la Lista de Patrimonio Mundial de Unesco. El an��lisis se acomete a nivel de tipos de paisaje, pero se avanzan algunos criterios para la selecci��n de ��mbitos concretos y representativos susceptibles de integrar una candidatura como ���bien en serie���.

Agricultura urbana, condici��n para el desarrollo sostenible y la mejora del paisaje

Este art��culo resulta de investigaciones en torno al ���enverdecimiento��� de las ciudades y las oportunidades de la agricultura urbana para la alimentaci��n de una poblaci��n en constante aumento que no trabaja la tierra. Tambi��n es fruto de actividades de mejora de ambientes urbanos realizadas con la Escuela de Ingenieros Agr��nomos de la Universidad Polit��cnica de Madrid. A trav��s de casos de agricultura urbana, entendiendo por ella el conjunto de pr��cticas para la producci��n de alimentos y plantas ornamentales dentro de las ciudades y en sus entornos, se analizan alternativas para la recuperaci��n de espacios construidos e incremento de la calidad de vida de la poblaci��n. Todo ello se traduce, adem��s, en creaci��n de riqueza y mejora del paisaje urbano, siempre desde criterios de sostenibilidad que favorecen el desarrollo local desde la Cumbre de la Tierra de R��o de 1992 y la Conferencia sobre Desarrollo Sostenible R��o+20 de 2013.

Land-use patterns and cultural change in the Middle to Late Bronze Age in Ireland: inferences from pollen records

In Ireland, the Middle to Late Bronze Age (1500-600 cal. B.C.) is characterised by alternating phases of prolific metalwork production (the Bishopsland and Dowris Phases) and apparent recessions (the Roscommon Phase and the Late Bronze Age-Iron Age transition). In this paper, these changes in material culture are placed in a socio-economic context by examining contemporary settlement and land-use patterns interpreted from the pollen record. The vegetation histories of six tephrochronologically-linked sites are presented that provide high-resolution and chronologically well-resolved insights into changes in landscape use over the Middle to Late Bronze Age. The records are compared with published pollen records in an attempt to discern if there are any trends of woodland clearance and abandonment from which changes in settlement patterns can be inferred. The results suggest that prolific metalworking industries correlate chronologically with expansive farming activity, which indicates that they were supported by a productive subsistence economy. Conversely, declines in metalwork production occur during periods when farming activity is generally less extensive and perhaps more centralised, and it is proposed that disparate socio-economic or ���political factors, rather than a collapse of the subsistence economy, lies behind the demise of metalworking industries.

Valuing the cultural monuments of Armenia: Bayesian updating of prior beliefs in contingent valuation

The most appropriate way to measure the social benefits of conserving built cultural heritage sites is to ask the beneficiaries of conservation interventions how much they would be willing to pay for them. We use contingent valuation - a survey-based approach that elicits willingness to pay (WTP) directly from individuals - to estimate the benefits of a nationwide conservation of built cultural heritage sites in Armenia. The survey was administered to Armenian nationals living in Armenia, and obtained extensive information about the respondents' perceptions of the current state of conservation of monuments in Armenia, described the current situation, presented a hypothetical conservation program, elicited WTP for it, and queried individuals about what they thought would happen to monument sites in the absence of the government conservation program. We posit that respondents combined the information about the fate of monuments provided by the questionnaire with their prior beliefs, and that WTP for the good, or program, is likely to be affected by these updated beliefs. We propose a Bayesian updating model of prior beliefs, and empirically implement it with the data from our survey. We found that uncertainty about what would happen to monuments in the absence of the program results in lower WTP amounts. �� 2008 Pion Ltd and its Licensors.