Abstract
This study examines the four cases of World Heritage protected cultural landscapes in Europe that are characterized by mining in order to identify the role mining plays today in such cultural landscapes, the legal requirements for their protection, and also the exploration and exploitation in these areas and the differences that exist between the five European countries concerned. Using a qualitative comparative case study approach, the authors find that active mining is taking place in the Austrian case, and exploration is happening adjacent to the German/Czech protected cultural landscape. The legal protection of the cases is mainly based on heritage and monument protection legislation as well as environment protection legislation including the Natura 2000 network. Differences exist, as other than in Germany, exploration and mining could be allowed in protected areas, which is also contrary to the position of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and the International Council on Mining and Metals.
Highlights
Many cultural landscapes in Europe belong to our joint cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value that “(...) is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity” [1]
The case selection is based on the UNESCO list of designated UNESCO World Heritage cultural landscapes in which extractive industries played or still play a key role from (i) the perspective of continuing landscapes, in which the landscape development is still ongoing and (ii) mineral extraction was a key driver for the designation of the site
The mapping of institutional regulations and mechanisms allowed the identification of instruments and approaches to mining and heritage in protected areas, mapping the following characteristics: (i) the extent of active mining in the protected area and the degree that mining contributes to the outstanding universal value of the World Heritage Site; (ii) current negative impacts and/or threats impacting the area; (iii) planning instruments for the implementation of heritage protection and their practical implications, i.e., concerning all stages of mining, from exploration to closure; and (iv) conservation issues related to the case
Summary
Many cultural landscapes in Europe belong to our joint cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value that “(...) is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity” [1]. The UNESCO differentiates three different categories: (i) designed landscapes, intentionally created by people (e.g., garden, park-landscapes), (ii) associative cultural landscapes, demonstrating powerful religious or cultural associations of natural elements rather than materially embodied cultural evidence, and (iii) organically evolved landscapes, based on their social, economic, administrative, and/or religious context and evolution This last category is the focus of our research and can be further divided into relict (fossil) landscapes, where transformative processes have stopped but their distinctive features are still present; and “continuing landscapes” that exhibit historic material evidence but transformative processes are still ongoing since the landscape still plays an active role for society and is associated with a “traditional way of life” and/or relict cultural landscapes [9]. The cultural landscape approach is critiqued, stressing a lack of a comprehensive typology or ranking, the conflation of historic and aesthetic values, or associated power struggles, e.g., [11,12]
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