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Biodiversity in World Heritage Cultural Landscapes: Possibilities and Problems for Communicating Climate Change and Mobilizing Mitigation
Author(s) -
Samuels Kathryn Lafrenz
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
culture, agriculture, food and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.308
H-Index - 12
eISSN - 2153-9561
pISSN - 2153-9553
DOI - 10.1111/cuag.12094
Subject(s) - biodiversity , climate change , cultural heritage , agency (philosophy) , environmental resource management , environmental planning , action (physics) , face (sociological concept) , geography , natural (archaeology) , ecology , sociology , environmental science , social science , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , biology
When biodiversity is recognized not simply as a natural quality but as a cultural concept and product, it highlights human agency in fostering and promoting biodiversity. Mobilizing human agency becomes particularly important in the face of significant threats to biodiversity, such as those posed by global climate change. UNESCO World Heritage Sites offer an ideal platform for communicating global conservation challenges like climate change, and therefore for mobilizing social action for climate change mitigation. The World Heritage category of cultural landscapes is particularly well suited to presenting biodiversity as a joint natural‐cultural product, and likewise demonstrating both the impacts of climate change on biodiversity and the social possibilities for climate action.