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Buffer zones are an important tool for conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List. All along the history of implementation of the World Heritage Convention, the protection of the "surroundings" of inscribed properties was considered an essential component of the conservation strategy, for cultural and natural sites alike.

Cultural landscapes became one of the hot topics during the past years of World Heritage work and beyond. They represent the combined works of man and nature. Moreover they are the places of peoples' livelihoods, identities and belief systems all over the world. The Ferrara workshop Cultural Landscapes : The challenges of conservation brought all those themes together and much more. Experts from all around the world had the opportunity to talk about key cultural landscape issues likely to direct overall strategies for the next ten years. They not only celebrated the concept, but also reviewed the implementation and the everyday management challenges of these complex sites. Cultural landscapes have been rendered more biologically diverse through human intervention over centuries. They are the foundations of food production systems and living gene banks for the food crops of tomorrow. These areas are home to local populations and indigenous groups, and are rich in cultural diversity and intangible values, to be conserved as a whole for a sustainable future.