Native livestock breeds as management tool of cultural landscapes

Τhere is global effort recent years for recognition, protection and promotion of both natural and cultural heritage. Greece has to show not only the ancient monuments and the remarkable variety of natural landscapes, but a great national heritage as well, which is the native livestock breeds. Rare breeds, which constituted important factors for the configuration of the Greek cultural landscapes for many centuries, contributed to the survival and prosperity of the societies and which have been ornamental component of masterpieces of the Greek art. Each breed survives and produce, as much as possible, into the environment in which it has been created and evolved through the natural selection. Combining landscape policy and land uses with the appropriate silvopastoral planning, extensive livestock husbandry can be practiced, based on flexible, runt, tough, self-sufficient and adapted Greek breeds, to upgrade the abandoned pastoral ecosystems increasing biodiversity, to manage cultural landscapes and to develop agrotourism as well. Interaction between cultural landscapes and the native livestock breeds could constitute subject for scientific research and serve educational and ethnological purposes as well. Native breeds could be a management tool of the cultural landscapes.