ABSTRACT
Everyone, from laymen and activists to politicians and scientists, seems intuitively to understand and agree with a statement such as: ‘The natural and cultural heritage (of a site) must be conserved’. As obvious and routine as this may be, if one wishes to go a step forward and implement specific actions, major problems emerge in adequately defining—particularly operationally—all three main terms: ‘conservation’, ‘natural heritage’ and ‘cultural heritage’, although they all sound familiar, are firmly established and widely used. It is beyond the scope of this paper to explore the content of these terms or to review the vast relevant literature. In order to serve my aim, however, some important points must be mentioned.
