What are heritage values? Integrating natural and cultural heritage into environmental valuation

Elaine Azzopardi*, Jasper O. Kenter, Juliette Young, Chris Leakey, Seb O'Connor, Simone Martino, Wesley Flannery, Lisa P. Sousa, Dimitra Mylona, Katia Frangoudes, Irène Béguier, Maria Pafi, Arturo Rey da Silva, Jacob Ainscough, Manos Koutrakis, Margarida Ferreira da Silva, Cristina Pita

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

There are strong links between heritage and the environment yet, heritage is not fully included in existing ecosystem-based frameworks. Different understandings of heritage values exist, and heritage values are not yet related to key value categories in environmental values research. To address this gap and facilitate a common values-based approach, we develop a novel framework that links heritage and environmental values. First, we expand the understanding of heritage values by linking heritage to key environmental value categories. We then use the Life Framework of Values to show how heritage features in the different ways in which people relate to the world. The resulting heritage values framework is operationalised by applying it to six case examples drawn from participatory research on the governance of European coastal and maritime heritage. We found that the environment was not only considered to be a setting for heritage but was itself valued as heritage in different ways; that heritage is not extrinsic to the environment but is also a way in which people see meaning in the environment; and that multiple value frames and types were involved in shaping this perspective. The results highlight important discrepancies between stakeholders' perspectives and existing management approaches. Applying the framework shows the ways in which heritage and nature are entwined by providing a structure for elucidating what can be valued as heritage, what values can inform heritage values and how heritage values feature in human–nature relations.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)368-383
Number of pages16
JournalPeople and Nature
Volume5
Issue number2
Early online date30 Jul 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPrint publication - Apr 2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
PERICLES has received funding from the European Commission Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 770504. EA was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NE/S00713X/1). LS and CP acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. MFS acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/145485/2019) and FCT/MCTES for the financial support to GOVCOPP (UIDB/04058/2020)+(UIDP/04058/2020), through national funds.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Keywords

  • Life Framework of Values
  • culture
  • ecosystem services
  • heritage
  • nature's contributions to people
  • participatory research
  • plural values

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'What are heritage values? Integrating natural and cultural heritage into environmental valuation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this