Ecology and ethics: landscape architecture and sustainability Desidério Batista University of Algarve Art and Art History Investigation Centre (CHAIA) - University of Évora Faro, Portugal dbatista@ualg.pt Rute Sousa Matos University of Évora Art and Art History Investigation Centre (CHAIA) - University of Évora Évora, Portugal rsm@uevora.pt Abstract— The present articles aims at analyzing the ecological dimension of the landscape in the context of the integrated and vast perspective of Landscape Architecture, which ethical vision considers the landscape both as a holistic system, living and dynamic, in constant transformation, and as a good of natural and cultural origin to be preserved. Through the thoughts of different authors we develop a reflexion on the consideration of ecology and culture as a foundation of the intervention in the contemporary landscape. In the context of the changeable dynamics typical of contemporary landscape, the intervention is based on sustainability principles, within of an ethical responsibility that seeks the long-term development of both Nature and Society. Keywords- ecology, culture, ethics, landscape, landscape architecture, sustainability I. INTRODUCTION The human activities develop systematically, cumulatively and continuously over the Earth, for thousands of years, producing significant alterations in its face. From this transformation process of the territory results the construction of the landscape. This happens, apart from the direct action of the Nature, directly from the human action over the ecological matrix aiming at the transformation of the natural ecosystems, in the sense of effectively using the resources and it is, implicitly, influenced by its culture. Meanwhile, while it increased the rhythm, the scale and complexity of the human interventions over the territory based on a short term sight and in the search for a quick return, we have been witnessing a progressive landscape and environmental degradation. This translates into situations that jeopardize the physical stability of the landscape, its ecological integrity, cultural identity and economical sustainability, as well as the quality of life of Man himself and his perspectives of the future. In the context of the last decades, of intense development and quick degradations, it is necessary to adopt and consolidate a new model of relationship between Man and Nature. When equating this new model, it is fundamental to consider two important questions. On the one hand, to understand the contribute and the role of ecology in the context of the emerging currents or philosophical attitudes. And, on the other hand, using the thoughts of several authors to frame the contemporary landscape intervention on the assumption that, based on an ethical commitment in the context of a new morale, it will provide socially and environmentally sustainable landscapes. II. ECOLOGY AND LANDCSAPE: NATURE AND CULTURE From the decade of 1960 upon considering the development of knowledge on ecology of which the systemic and holistic thought integrates, Landscape Architecture abandons a predominantly anthropocentric vision and starts to present a more ecocentric attitude, in the sense of making proposals for a bigger integration between man and the environment [1]. This change of attitude reveals the adoption of an ethical positioning that is manifested in the attribution of intrinsic and moral value to the harmonious relationship of Man with Nature, in the context of an idea of a new landscape philosophy which principles aim at framing and new kind of relationship between society and environment. For the current systemic vision that covers the relationship of man with the territory, defended by the emerging environmental paradigm that regulates itself by an valuing philosophy intrinsic to Nature and of an ethics of life in harmony with it, it is determinant the contributions of a vast group of studies of distinct authors. While other sciences isolate the context of their object of study, ecology appears as a scientific subject in 1866 and is considered by Morin as the first «new science», systemic science by definition, it considers the inter-relationships between all components be it physical, biological or social entities [2]. So ecology studies the interactions between organisms and between them and their environment, including Man in both cases [3]. In this sense, ecology necessarily contributes for the “communication” between nature and culture, given that it is the first time that a science, and not a philosophy, deals with the problematic of the relationships between humanity and nature [4]. Relationships that the interdisciplinary and holistic approach of landscape ecology considers, to be in the basis of the concept of landscape, which definition points to the interaction between human and natural factors [5]. In this sense, the landscape is considered as a complex and dynamic system where the different natural and cultural processes interact and evolve together, being subject to permanent transformations [6]. So the global comprehension of the landscape demands a global approach that integrates its several dimensions: (i) sensory, connected to the way the landscapes are appreciated by the populations; (ii) the socioeconomic, relative to the social factors and the human activities that SECTION 11. Ecology 1st International Virtual Scientific Conference http://www.scieconf.com Scientific Conference June, 10. - 14. 2013 - 334 -