Summary:

This monograph is a summary of the international project titled Protecting Historical Cultural Landscapes to Strengthen Regional Identities and Local Economies carried out in the period of 2006-2008 within the Interreg IIIB Cadses program of the European Union (www.cadses.ar.krakow.pl). The publication has 29 chapters covering widely understood issues concerning cultural landscapes from the point of view of scientific, implementation, educational and associative works. The monograph is divided into 6 factual parts. In the second part concerning the implementation of the European Landscape Convention the following chapters are featured: European Landscape Convention; Landscape Identification and Evaluation Research with the Help of the Ecovast Method, as a Contribution to the Process of Implementation of the European Landscape Convention Exemplified by the Municipality of Wiśniowa; Methodology of Valorizing and Assessing Landscape; Dynamic Analysis of Changes in Cultural Landscape of Wiśniowa Village in 1847-2006; Influence of Water Supply and Sewerage Infrastructure on Landscape Shaping with Special Consideration to the Municipality of Wiśniowa; Wooden Houses of the Beginning of the 20th Century in Wiśniowa - Shapes, Details and Colors; Impact of Anthropopressure on Changes in Hydrological Regime of the Krzyworzeka River in the Municipality of Wiśniowa; Role and Functions of Selected Elements of the Natural Environment in the Cultural Landscape of Wiśniowa Community; Method of Transforming Maps of the Former Austrian Cadastre to the 1965 National Coordinate System on the Example of the Wiśniowa Village, Myślenicki District. The following chapters are featured in the part titled Shaping and Protection of Historical Cultural Landscapes: Theoretical and Practical Aspects of Rural Landscape Creation; Protection and Valorization of Cultural Landscapes in Transylvania; Tir Gofal Agri-environment Scheme and its Contribution to Enhancing Cultural Landscapes and Biodiversity in Wales; Cultural Landscape Potential in the Community of Wiśniowa; Types of Geo-facets - Types of Cultural Landscapes in the Central Part of Transylvania; Cultural Landscape Elements in the Apuseni Mountains: Monuments of Folk Architecture; Mentalities and Cultural Landscapes in the Land of Moţi (Romania) – Case Study: Wood Processing in Gheţar Village (Gârda de Sus Community); State of the Agro-pastoral Landscapes in the Transylvanian Plain as a Basis of Cultural Landscapes. In the part titled Pilot Projects to Strengthen Regional Identities and Local Economies the following chapters are featured: Role of Pilot Projects and Principles of Good Practice in Processes of Active Landscape Shaping and Management of Cultural and Natural Landscape Elements as well as their Protection and Spatial Planning; Activities for the Protection of Carpathian Cultural Landscape in Małopolska Shaped by its 600-year-old Pastoral Culture; Development Concept Middle Saale Valley around Jena an Important European Cultural Landscape; Role of Photogrammetry, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing in Researching Cultural Landscape; Regional Marketing - Thematic Rural Markets in Reinstädt. The part titled Associative Premises of Cultural Landscape Protection and Collaboration with Local Communities includes: Sacred in Landscape; Cultural Landscapes of Wiśniowa as Places for Contemplation; Education – Precondition for Successful Preservation of Cultural Landscape; Training Local Experts in Innovative Methods of Cultural Landscape Surveying. The following are included in the part titled Catalogue and Register of Cultural Landscape Elements: Practical Guide to Using the International Mapping Key (Register) and Glossary; Catalogue of Cultural Landscape Elements with a Glossary of Terms. The last part titled Final Summary includes a description of the project. This project aimed at the protection and development of landscapes as a basis for the preservation of the identity of CADSES area and the monograph was created within this project. In an integral, multifaceted, theoretical, experimental, and implementation way this publication increases the knowledge of cultural landscapes identification, categorization, valorization and protection. Thus it contributes to the implementation of the European Landscape Convention. Presented in the monograph results of studies can be used in the development of new methods for a more effective and durable protection and preservation of cultural landscapes.