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About LHSA

Landscape Heritage Conservation

LHSA is the brainchild of veteran Landscape Architect Bruce Eitzen, who has practised for over thirty years in Southern Africa. At present, there are no organisations devoted to the conservation of landscape heritage in its own right in the region. Therefore LHSA was created to rectify this. Although the organisation is still embryonic, it is already working on the enormous task of cataloguing the landscape heritage of the region. For this we need your support, so please contribute and participate where you can. Sponsorship information can be found below. Thank you.

Bruce Eitzen LA

What we do

The three primary areas of LHSA activity are the appreciation, conservation and promotion of the Landscape Heritage of Southern Africa. Our three goals are:

To develop an organisation devoted to the furtherance and understanding of the natural and cultural landscape of Southern Africa.

To promote the concept of Landscape in Southern Africa in it its own right as a natural, cultural and/or designed phenomenon.

To record and map the natural, cultural and/or designed character of our landscapes, noting not only regions but places, peoples and organisations, practices and features of landscape interest and value.

Appreciation and Identification

Landscape Appreciation

What is Landscape? A fundamental appreciation of Landscape occurs in its identification as Landscape. This might seem like stating the obvious but the landscape is so ubiquitous, so enormous, and so fundamental, that it is easily overlooked and taken for granted. The fundamental identification and mapping of the landscape has not been done for our region, let alone throughout Africa. LHSA has created the LHSA Test Map which is the primary vehicle of its mission to identify and map the Landscape Assets of our great Southern African Landscape Estate. This will effectively inventorise the vast domain of Landscape and become the database of our Southern African Landscape Heritage Resources.

Conservation and Legislation

Landscape Conservation

The conservation of Landscape is currently fragmented amongst a plethora of different legislation aimed at various aspects of the landscape such as wildlife, water, forestry, agriculture, mining, town and regional planning, tourism, etc. There is no specific legislation for the identification and conservation of Landscape. It will require extensive coordination and cooperation, if not an entirely new mindset, to set the comprehensive conservation of the Southern African and African Landscape on the right path. Tying together the various layers of planning and context of the Landscape will take time but without it, the wider Landscape will never be comprehensively conserved.

Promotion and Sponsorship

Landscape Promotion

Everyone is a Landscape User and Appreciator, even if they do not really appreciate that. Many are involved already in some aspect of Landscape Conservation at some level, from home owners, to city planners, to parks and gardens users, farmers, foresters, road users, tourists and many others. Having tools to find out about the Landscape and how to appreciate and conserve it, will ultimately promote Landscape too. LHSA is already actively promoting a wide range of landscapes from historic to indigenous, to recreational and horticultural, terrestrial to coastal and marine, on its public Facebook Landscape History and Heritage of Southern Africa. Please join and find out more, and keep up-to-date with the Landscape Conversation.

LHSA Test Map

LHSA is already working on its first mapping product, the LHSA Test Map aka The Landscape Map. It is a rich compilation of 10 Landscape Layers being built bottom-up from the Natural Landscape through the Cultural Landscape. Thus it is comprised of the following layers:

Coastal Landscapes, Marine & Seascapes

Terrestrial Landscapes

Ancient Landscapes & Protected Sites

Agricultural, Indigenous & Vernacular Landscapes

Nationals Parks, Nature Reserves, Conservancies, etc

Historic Settlements, Towns and Cities

Historic Parks, Gardens & Landscapes

Public Parks, Gardens, Arboretums & Botanical Gardens

Private Gardens & Estates

Designed Landscapes & Infrastructure.

How to access and use The Landscape Map:

Click on the map image above/left to view the map.

Zoom in on any area and explore.

Use the Legend to turn on/off various Map Layers.

Click on any colour-coded Map Point and read the text for it.

This map works with Google Maps. Once you've accessed it, you will be able to explore its details through your Saved places. Scroll down through Your Lists to the end and click Maps, then Landscape Heritage SA Test Map. While you're out and about exploring the country you will also be able to learn all about the wonderfully rich world of the Landscape Heritage of Southern Africa.

Please help us

LHSA is dependent on sponsorship and support from like-minded people and organisations who appreciate the rich landscape heritage of Southern Africa and haven't yet found a way to contribute to this vital conservation and education arena. You can contact us through the offices of New World Associates, Landscape Architects fao Bruce Eitzen, Principal or visit our Support Page from the button below:

Our Mission

Landscape Heritage Conservation in
Southern Africa

Landscape Heritage Southern Africa (LHSA) is an organisation created for the appreciation, conservation and promotion of Southern African Landscapes -
natural, cultural, designed and developed.

Landscape Heritage Southern Africa

About LHSA

Landscape Heritage Conservation

Bruce Eitzen LA

LHSA Goals