Cultural Landscapes and Sustainability: Investigating the Linkages and Relevance

Abstract

Cultural landscapes as defined by UNESCO are combined works of nature and humankind as they express a close relation between humans and the landscapes around them. To reveal and sustain the great diversity of the interactions between humans and their environment, to protect living traditional cultures and preserve the traces of those which have disappeared, these sites, called cultural landscapes, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List. Conservation of such valued landscapes is currently being done at a global scale by various organizations including UNESCO and ICOMOS. The conservation and management of such landscapes with high ecosystem services can be considered a sustainable approach but sustainability often is viewed through pillar approach where ecological, social and economical aspects are the basis of its valuation where the landscape is just a physical entity. The cultural landscape is often not directly linked to sustainability. This paper tries to examine the relationship between cultural landscapes and sustainability by looking at some examples from the enlisted sites of cultural landscapes. The paper tries to conclude with the most relevant attribute of cultural landscapes which makes it a sustainable landscape in current scenario.