This special issue of the George Wright Forum on landscape stewardship is one product of a recent World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) working session in Vermont, USA, which was convened by the Conservation Study Institute (of the US National Park Service) and QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment. The publication explores the value of the protected landscape approach in the context of a changing role for protected areas, its potential application in several regions, and the opportunities it presents for the conservation of nature and culture. Seven articles by WCPA members draw on experience with protecting landscapes in regions as diverse as the Andes, South America, Oceania, the Eastern Caribbean, Europe, and northeastern North America.

As countries worldwide move to expand and strengthen their national protected areas systems, greater attention is needed to protecting landscapes where people live and work. Protected Landscapes (Category V in the IUCN system of management categories) and Cultural Landscapes (a category eligible for the World Heritage List) can provide valuable models of how to integrate biodiversity conservation, cultural heritage protection, and sustainable use of resources. This approach can also provide a way to support leadership by local people in the stewardship of these resources.

The protected landscape approach is central to a new paradigm for protected areas, one that is based on inclusive approaches, partnerships, and linkages, as Michael Beresford and Adrian Philips argue in their article. Mechtild Rössler reviews experience with Cultural Landscapes and the World Heritage Convention. Nora Mitchell and Susan Buggey examine the interface of protected landscapes and cultural landscapes and find opportunities for collaboration in the conservation of nature and culture. Giles Romulus and P.H.C. “Bing” Lucas draw on protected landscape/seascape experience from the Eastern Caribbean and the Pacific to discuss the value of this approach in small island states. Fausto Sarmiento, Guillermo Rodriguez, Miriam Torres, Alejandro Argumedo, Mireya Munoz, and Jack Rodriguez explore Andean traditions of stewardship that link nature and culture in specific case studies and suggest an innovative regional program for protected landscapes in the Andes. The concluding article by Jessica Brown and Brent Mitchell explores the value of the stewardship approach in protecting landscapes.

The volume is available from the George Wright Society, PO Box 65, Hancock, MI 49930-0065, USA. Fax ++906-487-9405; info@georgewright.org; web site,  www.georgewright.org.