Task Force Leader
Ms Jessica BROWN
Vice President
International Programs
QLF/Atlantic Centre for the Environment
55, South Main Street
Ipswich
Massachusetts 01938-2321
USA
Tel: ++1 (978) 356-0160, ++1 (978) 462-8076
Fax: ++1 (508) 356-7322
Email: jbrown@qlf.org
www.qlf.org

Thinking on protected areas is undergoing a fundamental shift. Whereas protected areas were once planned against people, now it is recognised that they need to be planned with local people, and often for and by them as well. Where once the emphasis was on setting places aside, we now look to develop linkages between strictly protected core areas and the areas around: economic links which benefit local people, and physical links, via ecological corridors, to provide more space for species and natural processes.

Category V refers to one of six categories of protected areas defined by IUCN.

Protected Landscape/Seascape:

Area of land, with coast and sea as appropriate, where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant aesthetic, ecological and/or cultural value, and often with high biological diversity. Safeguarding the integrity of this traditional interaction is vital to the protection, maintenance and evolution of such an area.

The use of the protected landscape approach has many benefits. By including working landscapes that are rich in biodiversity, and demonstrate sustainable use of natural resources, the protected areas' estate can be extended. Protected landscapes can also reinforce more strictly protected areas by surrounding them and linking them with landscapes managed for conservation and sustainable use. They can help to conserve both wild biodiversity and agricultural biodiversity, and to conserve human history alongside nature. They can support and reward stewardship of natural resources, sustain rural economies, and help communities resist pressures from outside which could undermine their way of life.