|
|
|
| |
 |
 |
|
Cultural Heritage
Most of us are not used
to thinking about heritage and the environment at the
same time. Yet they are closely connected. Following is
a look at the relationship between our cultural heritage
and our place in the biosphere. |
A Mexican gem: El Palacio, Palenque, Chiapas.
Photo Credit: Mauricio Ramos |
|
|
|
What
do we mean by "heritage"?
|
|
Heritage
is that which is inherited from the past. We tend to
think of our heritage as consisting of old buildings
and artifacts. Yet ideas, traditions and customs are
also part of our heritage. So too is the natural environment.
More specifically, heritage is that which gives a community
its identity. Our sense of who we are as a country where
we come from, what we value, what we believe in has
been shaped by many forces; our heritage is all that
has gone to make up this sense of nationhood. It is
what connects citizens of the past, present, and future
as members of one community.
|
What does our heritage have to do with the environment?
Our environment is that which surrounds
us. This means that it includes our built environment and the
culture in which we live, as well as 'nature'. Our heritage,
in turn, includes more than just cultural artifacts; we inherit
the land as well as the things we have built on it.
Is our cultural
heritage threatened?
Yes.
The landscape and buildings are endangered by vandalism, pollution,
negligence and urban development. But our heritage is especially
threatened by the rapid process of change that is typical of
our times.
National identity is anchored in the land, the communities we
have built, and the traditions that we have developed. These
change over time, as does the nation itself. Very rapid change,
however, can pose a problem. In many ways economically, technologically,
geographically our world is a rapidly changing one, and our
heritage is threatened by these processes of change. Historic
buildings are demolished for new urban development and eroded
by pollution, and advances in telecommunications technology
threaten to globalize the control of and input into our cultural
industries. Yet change has also brought many benefits, such
as economic prosperity, improved health, and universal access
to education. The challenge is to maintain these gains without
sacrificing the links to our history and culture that some forms
of growth can endanger.
Does
conserving heritage mean trying to turn back the clock?
No.
Heritage conservation is about managing change, not stopping
it. Change is not only inevitable, it is natural. All things
grow and develop. Some forms of growth, however, are detrimental
to the quality of life. Rapid, massive, and irreversible change
threatens to unhinge us from our past and from ourselves. The
purpose of heritage conservation is to ensure and support our
link to the history of our communities.
|
Can heritage conservation help the environment?
Yes.
One aspect of heritage conservation involves the renovation
and re-use of old buildings, where possible, as opposed to destroying
them to make way for new construction. Demolition of old buildings
wastes the resources and energy embodied in existing structures,
and generates large quantities of waste materials. Conservation
can also promote the revitalization of the core of the city,
slowing urban sprawl and preserving farmland and wildlife habitat.
|
Source:
Primer on Environmental Citizenship.
Copyright © 2000 Tierramérica.
Todos los Derechos Reservados
|
|
|
|
