The visual landscape: An important and poorly conserved resource

Abstract

Landscape is the setting for human activity, and any artificial action affects its perception. The processes that generate losses of landscape are the increase in urban areas and in productive infrastructures and services; the change in use of rural land to monoculture and the increase in anthropogenic structures in the rural landscape. This has led to an increased and rapid deterioration of landscape quality with the loss of landscapes of high aesthetic value, loss of landscape wealth; loss of naturalness when replacing the native plant cover and the loss of archetypal landscapes, robbing local identity. We must advance to landscape policies that include actions such as the compilation of landscape catalogues, monitoring and restoration programmes, as well as a vigorous environmental education programme aimed at conservation and recovery of the landscape.