Cultural landscape as a harmonious interaction of people & nature

Abstract

"People come and go but the Land, and stories about the Land, stay. This is a wisdom that takes lifetimes of listening, observing and experiencing ....There is a deep understanding of human nature and the environment. Sites hold 'feelings' which cannot be described in physical terms" (1) Morris, C (1995) The Cultural Landscape is a tangible manifestation of human actions and beliefs set against and within the natural landscape. (Jutta Melnic 1984). Early human settlements originated as a part of natural environment. They used minimum resources from the environment. Natural elements features and territories were treated with sacred dignity. As civilizations grew for thousands of years each generation owned different cultural values, beliefs. Those beliefs linked with natural elements added a spiritual value to the natural landscape making a cultural landscape. Cultural Landscape often reflects specific techniques of sustainable land use, considering the characteristic and limits of the natural environment they are establishing. This sustainable land use leads to the protection of biological diversity and it enhances the natural values embodied in the landscape. Chapter one will discuss how a Cultural Landscape forms concepts and definitions of different perspectives and some human nature relationships. Chapter two elaborates the Cultural Landscape in different contextual backgrounds and Varieties of Landscape experiences and its impact on the environment in overseas. Chapter three explains the origin of Cultural Landscape with different concepts and their application in a Sri Lankan context. Chapter four is a case study on the harmonious interaction of selected Cultural Landscape in a Sri Lankan context. The dissertation concludes with precautions and suggestions for protection of the Cultural Landscape. Morris, C (1995) "An Approach to Ensure Continuity and Transmission of the Rainforest Peoples' Oral Tradition" in Fourmile, H; Schnierer, S; & Smith, A (Eds) An Identification of Problems and Potential for Future Rainforest Aboriginal Cultural Survival and Self-Determination in the Wet Tropics. Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation Research and Development Cairns, Australia