Conservation of a ‘living heritage site’ A contradiction in terms? A case study of Angkor World Heritage Site

From Conservation to Sustainable Development—A Case Study of Angkor World Heritage Site, Cambodia

“…3 [26,27]. The benefits that Angkor tourism development and planning has brought to local communities had been questioned by an earlier study that has argued that the conservation of Angkor World Heritage site excluded local inhabitants from their social space [28]. Re-thinking old conservation approaches and the introduction of new ways to develop Angkor as a living heritage is gaining greater attention now [28].…”

“…The benefits that Angkor tourism development and planning has brought to local communities had been questioned by an earlier study that has argued that the conservation of Angkor World Heritage site excluded local inhabitants from their social space [28]. Re-thinking old conservation approaches and the introduction of new ways to develop Angkor as a living heritage is gaining greater attention now [28]. APSARA has commissioned research and development projects on intangible heritage to allow for the continuing practice of monastic life-styles and to permit villagers to worship their favourite deities within the World Heritage site.…”

Paradigm Shifts in Global Heritage Discourse

“…Many of the continuing or 'living' heritage sites in the Asia-Pacific region and in Africa could be recognized and inscribed as cultural landscapes. Moreover, some World Heritage sites in Asia such as Borobudur, Ayuttaya or Angkor could be considered cultural landscapes; indeed conservation and management of such heritage sites could benefit from approaching them as cultural landscapes (Miura, 2005;Taylor, 2013).…”

Past in the Present: A Living Heritage Approach - Meteora, Greece

“…In the last decades, the heritage authorities of the site have heavily promoted the tourism development of the site. The local communities and the monks of the site have been gradually restricted on the site and occasionally even removed from it, and their association with the site has been altered: the local villagers are now becoming increasingly interested in the financial aspect of the site through their involvement in the tourism industry, while becoming a priest is now seen as a form of investment (Miura 2005). …”