Solutions for the Sustainable Management of a Cultural Landscape in Danger: Mar Menor, Spain

Abstract

The focus of this paper is a case study on the municipality of San Javier in Spain. The aim of the analysis was to provide a working model for the integration of the assessment and conservation of built heritage into broader projects devoted to the sustainable restoration of natural spaces undergoing evident declines in habitability. With a population of 31,905, San Javier is located on the edge of the Mar Menor, which is one of the largest permanent salt water lagoons in the Mediterranean. It forms part of the coastal region of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. San Javier is one of four municipalities that administer this unique ecosystem. However, despite being designated as a protected natural site since its 14 beaches are one of the most important national and international tourist destinations in this Autonomous Community, since 2016, it has suffered one of the worst environmental crises in its history. One of the outcomes of this situation is that the government bodies involved have begun to seek new models for the area’s complete regeneration that would enable sustainable growth and also include the social and economic sectors that have, to date, played a secondary role in managing the area. In this regard, cultural heritage should play a key role. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the region’s cultural heritage, despite the complex issues involved in its management, especially for the local administrative bodies, can contribute to the creation of new models for regeneration. Besides the added value of cultural prestige provided by this area’s unique cultural landscape, which is a further legacy of the region’s history and artistic development, engaging with cultural heritage facilitates the revival of traditional systems that contribute to environmental improvement. Finally, this paper provides tools that enable local groups, and, above all, the residents themselves, to identify with the values of their cultural heritage.

Valorización del paisaje y turismo: mirada desde la producción científica

“…Si se toma en cuenta esta conceptualización, la valorización del paisaje nace de los significados que los grupos sociales le otorgan a este (Huang et al, 2017) como resultado de los beneficios que la naturaleza y sus elementos culturales (Trovato et al, 2017) les brindan a las personas por medio de múltiples aspectos naturales, sociales y económicos recopilados de una región geográfica que conducen a un panorama dinámico, activo, en evolución y habitado (Csurgó & Smith, 2021;Lu et al, 2019). En este sentido, el valor del paisaje es una cohesión de intereses comunitarios (Griñán, 2020), traducidos en significados asignados y percibidos sobre el bien patrimonial por medio de su reconocimiento subjetivo como un entorno objetivo (Della Spina & Giorno, 2021). El paisaje es un elemento de suma importancia para la actividad turística (Smith & Ram, 2017), pues es percibido como un entorno con fines recreativos junto con su arquitectura y su significado como bien patrimonial (Huang et al, 2017).…”

Strategic analysis of the socio-ecological systems of coastal lagoons: the cases of Mar Menor (Spain) and Mar Chiquita (Argentina)

“…Budget for the management and enhancement of the cultural and environmental heritage of the Mar Menor (Mínguez, 2002;Griñán Montealegre, 2020). Degree of satisfaction in visits to visitor centres of natural/cultural spaces (León & Bellido, 2016) Budget for the management and enhancement of the cultural and environmental heritage of Mar Chiquita (INDEC, 1991(INDEC, , 2001(INDEC, , 2010.…”

Framing the Hierarchy of Cultural Tourism Attractiveness of Chinese Historic Districts under the Premise of Landscape Conservation

“…Intangible cultural resources (B2): The contents of this criterion were derived mainly by integrating the actual situation of districts and the relevant references (including the classification of intangible cultural heritage and the presentation of intangible culture). "Narratives and memories" was a combination of the UNESCO and Taiwanese definitions of oral traditions [88,90]; " Cultural activities" was a combination of traditional performing arts, performing arts, rituals, and festive events [88,90]; "Industrial culture activities" was a combined presentation of the cultural and creative industries and the traditional industries [91,92]; "Characteristic cultural manifestations" were the combination of various traditional cultural manifestations, traditional craftsmanship, folklore, traditional knowledge and practices, oral expressions-including language as a vehicle for intangible cultural heritage, social practices, traditional craftsmanship, and knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe [77,88,90]; "Residents' images" was a combination of resident's participation, preservation awareness, residents' consensus, and a manifestation of values [93,94]; "District services" was a combination of the contents related to tourism and public services [95,96].…”