Designing Protected Areas for Social–Ecological Sustainability: Effectiveness of Management Guidelines for Preserving Cultural Landscapes

Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos, Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz, Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui, Francisco D. Pineda and María F. Schmitz
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Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz: Social-ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, Autonomous University of Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Francisco D. Pineda: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
María F. Schmitz: Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Rural cultural landscapes are social–ecological systems that have been shaped by traditional human land uses in a co-evolution process between nature and culture. Protected areas should be an effective way to protect cultural landscapes and support the way of life and the economy of the local population. However, nature conservation policymaking processes and management guidelines frequently do not take culturalness into account. Through a new quantitative approach, this paper analyzes the regulatory framework of two protected areas under different management categories, located in an ancient cultural landscape of the Madrid Region (Central Spain), to identify the similarities in their conservation commitments and the effectiveness of their zoning schemes. The results show some arbitrariness in the design and management of these parks, highlighting the importance of prohibited measures in their zoning schemes that encourage uses and activities more related to naturalness than to culturalness. The recognition of protected areas as cultural landscapes and their management considering both naturalness and culturalness issues are important methods of better achieving sustainable management objectives from a social–ecological approach. This methodological approach has proven useful to unravel various legislative content, and its application on a larger scale could reveal important information for the sound management of protected areas (PAs) in cultural landscapes.

Keywords: biocultural heritage; comparative law; culturalness; naturalness; protected area regulations; regulation schemes; social–ecological systems; traditional ecological knowledge; zoning consistency; zoning coherence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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