“Intangible cultural heritage in nature: spaces, resources and practices” (seminar, Riga, September 8, 2017)

 

Intangible cultural heritage can be created by communities as a response to their environment and their interaction with nature. Farming, fishing, hunting, pastoral or food gathering practices are, for instance, associated to natural resources and spaces. Safeguarding these elements of intangible cultural heritage requires, not only recognition of a community’s rights to access ecosystems, such as forests or seas, but also the right to use its resources. States may grant to communities hunting, shing or harvesting rights, to preserve their traditional lifestyle and the intangible cultural heritage it sustains. These rights must however be exercised in an ecologically sustainable manner to mitigate the impact these practices can have on the environment. In contrast, some knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe can be considered as land management systems or as traditional ecological knowledge. In this case, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage contributes directly to the preservation of the environment and to the conservation of biodiversity. Read more…

On September 8, 2017, an international research seminar of comparative law entitled “Intangible cultural heritage in nature: spaces, resources and practices” will be held in Riga. Organized as part as the Osmose research program, this event will consist in a series of presentations, round tables and discussions at the Latviam Academy of Culture.

Documents:

Conceptual note

Program in English

Program in Latvian

Abstracts of Presentations