Awadallah, A., 2005, Landscape change as a constructive steady state in the developing countries, in: ECLAS (D. Oguz), ‘Landscape change’, Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Agriculture Ankara University, Ankara
- Author : Awadallah, A.
- Year : 2005
- Published in Book : Landscape change
- Pages : 106-116
- Abstract in English : Landscape change logically requires the perception of a new state which has features and characteristics other than those of the previous one. Under normal and natural conditions, ecological processes create the landscape changes. If human communities do not compose any part of these processes, the changes will follow the original rules of these processes creating a pristine nature. In this case, landscape change can be predicted and perceived as a steady state. This state might also be reached in other cases when and where human communities and their activities compose a part of the ecological processes; however, many restrictions on these activities should be imposed in order to save this steady state of change. This indeed rarely happens, and therefore, landscape changes can hardly be predicted when human intervention is included. This rather increases the future uncertainty and hence the need for planning and legislation. Generally speaking, the case of the developing world (in the southern part of the Earth) covers a wide range of all these possibilities. Nevertheless, the case where human intervention (impact) is great is more obvious. Unfortunately, the human intervention in the landscape-related issues in the developing world can be described, more or less, as a destructive steady state. This state has indeed become normal and even predictable in many cases which include cases that have great human intervention and impacts because of wars and conflicts (e.g. the Middle East region), and many other cases where little amount of attention is given to the landscape-related issues. A steady state of landscape change may then include ideas and experiences other than the many well-known ecological ones, and achieving a steady state in landscape change will not be (as it has not been) the main purpose of landscape ecological planning, for example. However, a constructive accelerating steady state (predictable and planned) in landscape change is a holistic urgent demand in the developing countries.
- Comments/Notes : KEYWORDS: landscape change, developing world, socio-economic conditions. / Eclas 2005