Landscape Protection in International Law

Once the exclusive prerogative of domaine réservé, landscape has gained increasing importance in international law in recent years. Since the introduction of cultural landscapes within the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, and particularly since the adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC), emphasis has shifted beyond a scenic, preservationist approach towards a more dynamic, human-centred one. The focus is not only on outstanding landscapes, but also on the everyday and degraded landscapes where most people live and work. Landscape is land shaped by people, after all, and its protection, management and planning have a number of implications for democracy, human rights and spatial justice. Despite these links, however, there has been little legal scholarship on the topic.

How does international law, which deals for the most part with universality, deal with something so region-specific and particular as landscape? What is the legal conception of landscape and what are the various roles played by international law in its protection? Amy Strecker assesses the institutional framework for landscape protection, analyses the interplay between landscape and human rights, and links the etymology and theory of landscape with its articulation in law.

Amy Strecker, Assistant Professor, Department of Heritage & Society, Leiden University

Amy Strecker is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Heritage and Society, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, where she teaches the theory and practice of international heritage law. Amy obtained her PhD in international law from the European University Institute, Florence. She holds an MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management and a BA in the History of Art and Architecture from University College Dublin. Her research focuses primarily on the interplay between landscape and law (including heritage, environment, property and human rights). Recent research has also dealt with the role of international law in confronting the colonial past in the Caribbean, specifically in relation to land rights, cultural heritage and restitution. Amy is a visiting professor in international environmental law at the University of Nova Gorica, Venice, and a research coordinator with the LDE Centre for Global Heritage and Development.