Polski wiejski krajobraz: więcej niż przyroda

Traditional rural landscapes have long been shaped by the subsistence farming adapted to local environmental conditions (climate, soils, topography, etc.), underpinned by traditional institutions (family, parish, communal councils, the rule of land heredity, etc.), and secured by the common system of values and norms. Such biocultural complexes were providing an intrinsic network of habitats interconnected by the traditional land multiple use systems. Securing relative dynamic stability throughout centuries, the rural landscapes have become a very efficient „time capsule‟ of Europe‟s terrestrial biodiversity. At the same time, they are a living memory, a tangible footprint of the past generations, and thus, a place where a contemporary man can understand his ancestors, and rediscover the truth of himself. Alas, the progressing urbanization of societies decouples them from the landscapes of their origin. Urban dwellers eagerly get involved in conservation advocacy campaigns focused on often far-away „virgin forests‟, while their own urbia keep sprawling and consuming the rich traditional countryside. Such cultural severance threatens not only the diversity and beauty of abandoned and neglected landscapes but also our own sense of identity.