Living Heritage and Cultural Landscapes Creating and Conserving the Value of Local Landscapes as Living Heritage
“Living heritage” refers to heritage in two senses:
Heritage in which tangible elements (such as buildings and archaeological sites) and intangible elements (such as cultural practices and livelihoods) are fused together to generate value.
Heritage that is safeguarded through the active involvement of local residents or related indigenous communities, who are recognized as essential stakeholders.
Cultural landscapes encompass both of these aspects. UNESCO defines a cultural landscape as a “combined work of nature and humankind,” covering a wide range of landscapes shaped by human interaction with the natural environment. Under Japan’s Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, cultural landscapes are described as “landscapes formed by the lives or livelihoods of people in a region and its natural features, indispensable for understanding the lives or livelihoods of the Japanese people.”
For communities seeking to promote tourism, adopting the concept of cultural landscapes—by assigning visible value to the totality of local attractions—offers an effective way to establish a distinct destination image and to communicate their appeal both within and beyond the region.
