Alhambra Declaration, commitment to protection and preservation of World Heritage Cultural Landscapes

The 3rd International Conference of the Alliance of Cultural Landscapes has been closed today in the Palace of Charles V by María del Mar Villafranca, Director of the Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, and Jesús Dionisio Ballesteros, vice president of the Alliance of Cultural Landscapes and Major of Aranjuez, by means of reading the Alhambra Declaration. This document is a confirmation of the intention of the Alliance of becoming an “example on international level for the protection, preservation and management of landscapes” and of the wish to promote “commitments and agreements with bodies with common objectives, especially with the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC)”.
Hundreds of specialists and managers of the entire world have discussed during two days on the use and management of water on the basis of the most recent strategies on this respect and the connection between water and Cultural Heritage. Therefore the signatories of the Alhambra Declaration have pointed out the presence of risks and potential menace to cultural landscapes, as a consequence of the climatic change. Also they demand promotion actions to guarantee the active conservation of their constitution and image, as well as the appreciation and use by the citizens.
More than twenty cultural landscape representatives of countries of all over the world, like Andorra, Austria, Cuba, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, China, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Bosnia, Poland, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, Argentina and Italy, have participated in the 3rd International Conference. Some of them showed their intention of becoming a member of the Alliance of Cultural Landscapes. The Promoter Group at present consists of Aranjuez Cultural Landscape, Sintra Cultural Landscape, Cultural Biodiversity of Eivissa, the Palmeral of Elche, the Historical Complex of the Alhambra and Generalife, and the Archeological Site of Las Médulas in León.
In December 2007 the 1st International Conference of the Alliance of Alhambra Declaration Cultural Landscapes was celebrated in Aranjuez, whereas in July 2008, also in Aranjuez, the Constitution Agreement of the Alliance was signed, being part of it the assets included in the World Heritage List. In September 2008, the 2nd International Conference was celebrated in Sintra (Portugal), where the criteria were outlined to demand the recognition and preservation of these areas and making it compatible with an adequate sustainable development.