NATURE AS A PLACE: CONSTRUCTING NATURAL SITES IN UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
Keywords:
nature, natural sites, UNESCO, culture, environment, anthropology of spaceAbstract
The idea of a physical space, unaffected by human action as something worthy of admiration, underlies the concept of natural sites. This paper argues that UNESCO’s natural landscapes are as socially constructed (artifacts) as tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and that the processes of protection contaminate the fundamental premise of the nature intactedness. I will apply several analytical tools developed throughout the history of the discipline, concerning the anthropology of place and space and environmental anthropology, to the definitions and regulations that UNESCO has created in relation to nature and natural sites. The goal of this research is to contribute to a better understanding of the use of the notion of nature in the construction of a universal value system and the global political implications of such values.
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