Exploring Nature-Culture Linkages beyond Cultural Landscapes

Abstract

The UNESCO Chair on Nature-Culture Linkages in Heritage Conservation was established at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, creating a research and training platform for the study of the interlinkages between cultural and natural values in landscapes of Asia and the Pacific. The Capacity Building Workshops on Nature-Culture Linkages (CBWNCL) gathered 57 mid-career heritage practitioners and 20 graduate students in four years of implementation (2016–2019). The purpose was to exchange knowledge and reflect on experiences in the management of landscapes from different perspectives of the conservation practice. With the aim to contribute to the World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy, the UNESCO Chair worked on the following themes focused under the umbrella of linking nature and culture: Agricultural Landscapes, Sacred Landscapes, Disasters and Resilience and Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage. In this chapter, the authors reflect on the conceptual background of this experimental programme, connected to the World Heritage Convention and the Japanese conservation system. The chapter presents the programme’s contents and lessons learned, as well as the challenges for capacity building, pointing at the need for scaling up and supporting the continuity of interdisciplinary projects.