Valuing Cultural Landscape Heritage in Historic Areas: Proposed Assessment Criteria from Thailand

Abstract

A historic area is a valuable cultural heritage site. A historic community’s landscape is no less valuable than the historic buildings. In Thailand, conservation organisations only preserve and value buildings with high archaeological importance. The appreciation of surrounding landscapes is still lacking. This study aimed to establish criteria for valuing cultural landscape in Thailand. The methodology was by reviewing concepts of cultural heritage, historic area, cultural landscape, and evaluation criteria created by UNESCO and Thai organisations so as to build the new criteria. We then proposed the criteria in four areas: aesthetics, history, science and education, and society, which would correspond to current guidelines to cover cultural landscapes comprehensively.