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Cultural heritage as an interconnected system of human communities and their environment.

Natural elements with cultural significance shaped by shared historical and ecological evolution.

A framework for conservation and sustainable use in the context of global environmental challenges

Concept integrating cultural and natural values as a single system shaped by ecological, historical, and social processes.

Eco‑Cultural Heritage

as a Dynamic System

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Traditional dualism

1972

2003

2025

Timeline

How the Concept of Eco‑Cultural Heritage Evolved Over Time

focus on monuments vs. natural reserves as separate entities.

UNESCO World Heritage Convention introduced the category of mixed sites

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention expanded heritage to include traditions, rituals, and knowledge linked to nature

Recognition of cultural landscapes as dynamic systems reflecting historical, technological, and social change (120+ sites)

Definition of Cultural Landscapes:

Areas where the interaction between people and nature over time has

produced a distinct character with significant ecological and cultural value.

Lednice‑Valtice Cultural Landscape

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Biocultural Heritage Interdependence of Biodiversity and Culture

Highlights the interdependence between biological and cultural diversity (e.g. sacred groves in the Polish Carpathians)

Traditional knowledge and long-term land management support biodiversity (e.g. hay-meadow mowing in the Czech Highlands)

Loss of cultural practices can lead to ecological instability (e.g. decline of traditional sheep grazing in the Tatra Mountains).

Overcomes dualistic conservation models of monuments vs. natural reserves (e.g. integrated management of the Lednice‑Valtice Cultural Landscape).

Biocultural Heritage: An integrated system of biological, cultural, and environmental diversity co-evolving through long-term human–nature interactions

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Resilient Heritage

Climate Resilience in Heritage: sustainable restoration and integration of climate projections into management plans (e.g. Warsaw’s 2030 Adaptation Strategy including Old Town flood defenses).

Strategies and practices that enable cultural heritage sites to adapt to and remain meaningful under changing

climate conditions.

Climate

Adaptation and

Resilience in Heritage

Resilient Heritage: enabling historic

sites to withstand environmental stressors while retaining function and symbolic value (e.g. Dresden’s Weisseritz flood protection scheme post-2002)

Transformative Heritage: accepting loss or decay as part of learning under extreme environmental risks (e.g. Passau’s City Hall high-water markers from 1501–2013 intentionally preserved)

Heritage Adaptation: aligning cultural preservation with climate policies (e.g. Czech Republic’s 2015 National Adaptation Strategy with cultural heritage plan).

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Cultural Sustainability and Heritage

Applies climate-smart management and landscape-based approaches within broader ecosystem frameworks.

Employs multi-level vulnerability assessments combining environmental modeling and socio-economic analysis

Promotes sustainable tourism and adaptive reuse of historic buildings to support local economies and reduce ecological footprint

Encourages community participation in decision-making as a driver of resilient, socially sensitive heritage management

A holistic approach combining innovation, ecosystem perspectives, and community empowerment to maintain and revitalize cultural heritage amid environmental and social challenges.

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Anthropocene and More‑Than‑Human Heritage

Anthropocene Heritage: recognizes human actions as geological and ecological forces (e.g. spoil heaps of the Most lignite mine, Czech Republic).

More‑Than‑Human Heritage: includes non‑human actors like wildlife, plants, ecosystems, and intelligent systems (e.g. Białowieża Forest ecosystem dynamics, Poland).

Symbiotic and Unruly Heritage: focuses on polluted or disaster‑impacted sites as part of the historical narrative (e.g. revitalized industrial brownfields in Ostrava, Czech Republic).

Rewilding initiatives integrate historical structures with natural processes for ecosystem restoration (e.g. floodplain rewilding at Donau‑Auen National Park around Hainburg Castle, Austria).

Anthropocene Heritage: The inclusion of human‑induced geological, ecological, and technological traces as integral elements of our cultural heritage.

Most lignite mine, Czech Republic.

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Symbiocene and Processual Heritage

Envisions built environments in harmony with natural ecosystems through biomaterials and ecological design.

Heritage becomes process-oriented, focusing on sustaining interconnected ecological and cultural relationships.

Systems are designed to self-renew and evolve with the ecosystem, blurring boundaries between human activity and natural cycles.

A paradigm where cultural heritage is conceived as dynamic, regenerative processes co-evolving

with ecosystems through ecological design and adaptive structures.

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Posthumanist and More‑Than‑Human Heritage

recognizes ecosystems and organic/inorganic elements as co-creators of historical processes (e.g. Białowieża Forest, Poland).

More‑Than‑Human Heritage

emphasizes intertwined cultural and natural structures, acknowledging unruly heritage of polluted or disaster-impacted sites (e.g. Dolní Vítkovice industrial park, Czech Republic)

Symbiotic Heritage

sites marked by industrial contamination or natural disasters become part of the historical narrative (e.g. flood markers in Poland: http://openhydrology.org/maps/flood_mark/

Unruly Heritage

restore natural processes and original ecosystems, allowing nature to balance with historic structures (e.g. floodplain rewilding at Donau‑Auen National Park, Austria).

Rewilding Initiatives

More‑Than‑Human Heritage:

A concept that embraces non-human agents and multi-species interactions as fundamental elements of cultural heritage and ecological dynamics.

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Therapeutic Landscapes and Heritage Wellbeing

Considers local ecosystems, historical layers, and multiple actors (e.g. Piestany Spa Island combining river habitats and historic spa facilities, Slovakia).

Interdisciplinary research highlights heritage’s role in mental health (e.g. studies on stress reduction in Mariánské Lázně spa parks, Czech Republic).

Therapeutic Landscapes: spaces combining natural elements, historic environments, and community areas as emotional refuges (e.g. Karlovy Vary’s colonnade parks, Czech Republic)

Green and quality public spaces provide ecosystem services and connect people to local heritage (e.g. Łazienki Królewskie Park, Warsaw, Poland).

Therapeutic Landscapes: places integrating natural, historical, and social elements to promote emotional wellbeing, social interaction, and community resilience.

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