The future of the past:Towards a better integration of cultural heritage in landscape stewardship

In a modern world that seems sometimes too much threatened by oppositions of people, cultures and continents, cultural heritage could reconnect and inspire people by exploring and defining a dynamic and richly varied past that could act as a base for a common future. Therefore, landscape stewardship needs a thorough knowledge of past landscapes and a never ending redefinition of our common cultural heritage. The chapter examines how the knowledge of the past and the care for cultural heritage can be integrated into an innovative strategy for landscape stewardship. Key concepts are interdisciplinarity, intersectorality and participation. First an interdisciplinary method is described which allows very diverse types of cultural historical information to be integrated into one effective and widely accessible landscape biography. We then examine how local experiential knowledge and scientific expertise can be amalgamated and translated into a participatory planning process. Finally, we focus on the landscape itself: how can heritage and nature management be merged into a more integrated form of landscape management. And how can new collective arrangements of citizens contribute to innovative forms of landscape stewardship on local and micro-regional levels