Discords around heritage landscapes: A comparative study of Apulia and Wallonia

The preamble of European Landscape Convention mentions that “the landscape is a key element of individual and social well-being and that its protection, management and planning entail rights and responsibilities for everyone”. Considering the multiple functions that landscapes fulfil and the multiple representations they reflect, it is not uncommon for inequities and conflicts to arise in the development of landscape policies. What are the real rights and responsibilities of the population in the landscape protection? Our communication proposes a comparison between landscape and heritage policies in Apulia (Italy) and in Wallonia (Belgium). Through two case studies (Boucle de l'Ourthe and Valle d'Itria), we question the actors involved in landscape protection, the roles of the population in the decision-making process as well as the intentions of those who make decisions and the way people who “use” the landscape experience these intentions. While the “Code Wallon du Patrimoine” considers citizens as actors of heritage and the “Piano Paesaggistico Territoriale Regionale” promote a social management of the landscape, some inhabitants remain perplexed about their influence in decision-making process, question the future of their landscape and perceive sometimes the restrictive directives as a “violation of their freedom” and their heritage.