Simplification of agricultural systems, farmland abandonment, uncontrolled urbanization, together with global scale
drivers, determine fast and unpredictable phenomena of hydrogeological instability, biodiversity decline and identity
loss.
Men should hence promote socio-economic resilience and place identity, using biocultural landscapes as a resource.
These landscapes are the outcome of the historical relationship between man and nature, resulting from complex
interactions between biodiversity (at all levels, including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and
cultural diversity, including material and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local
traditional agricultural practices, dialectal culture).
Traditional water use is one of the main defining factors of traditional agricultural landscapes, characterized by
significantly multiplied and enhanced functions and by the highest degree of biocultural diversity. The integrity of
traditional agricultural landscapes is an indicator of environmental sustainability, socio-economic growth and habitat
resilience. Land management and planning should promote the multi-functionality of biocultural landscapes through
new interdisciplinary frameworks and innovative strategies, aimed at landscape conservation, enhancement and
creative management