Biodiverse, healthy ecosystems and landscapes provide services that are the basis for human well-being. Europe possesses an astonishing wealth of different ecosystems and landscapes, which in many cases are the result of a long history of traditional human land management. At the same time, cultural landscapes in many parts of Europe are threatened and become more and more fragmented. As traditional land use practices are no longer maintained or economically viable, or as a result of socio-economic changes, these landscapes are abandoned, altered or disappear altogether. Other tracts of land are threatened by development and land speculation. Consequently, in many parts of Europe, traditionally managed cultural landscapes and the ecosystem services they provide for people are being lost. Paisaia European Landscape Foundation works with partners across Europe against this trend. It acquires landscapes and manages plots of land in a sustainable way, and thereby conserves and enhances the cultural and natural heritage within and protects them for the future.
