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HERITAGE MONTH FEATURE

Natural landscape: Snyderskloof, Moordenaars Karoo in the Western Cape

LANDSCAPE HERITAGE SA

Bruce Eitzen of New World Associates Landscape Architects is in the process of forming
a heritage group called Landscape Heritage SA (LHSA). He has approached ILASA
(Institute for Landscape Architecture in South Africa) as well as the APHP (Association
of Professional Heritage Practitioners) and IAIAsa (International Association for Impact
Assessment South Africa) to join him in this undertaking. Further professional groups
will be approached in due course. The group will focus on landscape heritage in
Southern Africa (and more widely) but will initially be focussed on South Africa.

itzen’s reason for starting the group is to of the world and the environment, yet its provincial and national boundaries. Some
fill a planning and appreciation gap in recognition, management and control is even have world heritage status e.g. Table
Ethe sphere of landscape heritage, which fragmented amongst many different acts, Mountain and the Drakensberg, not to
is currently divided between Acts such as authorities, land uses and role players. mention Victoria Falls, Robben Island and
the NHRA (National Heritage Resources Act), others.
NPA (National Parks Act), NEMA (National Landscape concerns everybody and is not
Environmental Management Act) and many merely a visual or scenic phenomenon. The very definition of what landscape is,
others. “Although the organisation is still Landscape quite literally needs to be put is not understood as an entity in its own
at an embryonic stage, I would like to get on the map; inventorised, classified and right. In the planning arena, it is usually
those landscape architects with an interest mapped like any national asset. divided up into different aspects such as
in heritage to become involved. I expect rural, urban, agriculture, forestry, mining,
that the subject is close to many landscape Landscape is not simply planned at a parks and open spaces, national parks and
architects’ hearts,” he states. national or provincial level, let alone state land.
regionally. There is no such thing as
The organisation will be a new outlet for landscape planning and management Regions like the Karoo and its subdivisions
the professional and public expression of in South Africa or the region, yet our of the Coup, Hantam and Kouebokkeveld,
landscape, which is a continuous feature landscapes are continuous across district, for example, have no clearly defined
boundaries. There is no grading of our
landscape resources, nor is there even an
inventory of them. Who knows how many
waterfalls the country even has? How do
we know if this hill or that mountain is
more important than this stream or that
river, this beach or that bridge?

What exactly is landscape?
This is a very important question to
consider as we are inclined to just take
landscape for granted. It is just there. It
is everywhere. It is so ubiquitous that
we expect it to be there, with somebody
Coastal landscape: Cape Agulhas looking after it, but who is?

6 Landscape SA • Issue 105 2021