Water & Land

Intangible heritage and sustainable development.

In the Water & Land project, we make an inventory of, research and stimulate intangible heritage as a lever for challenges such as water management, biodiversity and soil fertility. With this project we aim for international cooperation and exchange between heritage communities, managers and experts. Intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development are inextricably linked, but today the connection between heritage and ecological sustainability is anything but obvious. With the Water & Land project we aim to spread this alternative view of heritage.

The UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) states that intangible heritage, in addition to being a driver for cultural diversity, is also a guarantee for sustainable development, whether social, economic or ecological. Recent research shows that heritage is a valuable source of knowledge. Old techniques and ecological knowledge can provide a contemporary answer or inspiration to current questions surrounding biodiversity and water management. Intangible heritage can inspire and inform environmental and climate management and policy, or fuel scientific research. This 'intimate knowledge', as UNESCO calls it, shows that sustainability is not only a scientific issue, but also a local and cultural one.

Intangible

cultural heritage?

Intangible cultural heritage contains the habits, knowledge and practices of today, which people have inherited from the past and would like to pass on to future generations. And as times change, intangible heritage evolves along with it. This dynamic character makes intangible heritage ideally suited to teach us more about how we deal with changes, for example in climate. However, intangible heritage resides in the minds and hands of people, and therefore it is not always self-evident to take care of this heritage, let alone to assign it an active role in climate challenges. In the Netherlands and Belgium, as elsewhere, knowledge and insights from heritage practices are still rarely included in decision-making processes. The separation in policy and science between culture and nature remains strong, with the latter receiving by far the most attention. That is why the Center for Agrarian History and the Dutch Centre for Intangible Heritage are jointly looking at intangible heritage from a new angle and investigating the link with ecological sustainability.

Water & Land

This project focuses on current challenges and heritage practices within the theme 'Water and Land'. It involves traditional knowledge and craftsmanship that promote a climate-robust and ecologically rich landscape, as well as traditions and customs related to water and land.

In three project years we approach three contemporary themes that are closely linked: water management, biodiversity conservation, and soil fertility. Without pretending that intangible heritage offers the all-in solution, old techniques and practices can provide enriching insights. We work together with various heritage communities in Flanders and the Netherlands that contribute to a sustainable future with their inspiring exemplary practices. We exchange experience and expertise and thereby deliver new solutions.

In short, this project wants to:

Investigate, safeguard and make more visible intangible heritage with opportunities for a climate-robust future
Support heritage communities
Alert policymakers to opportunities
Stimulate international exchange

Water management

We are increasingly confronted with drought and salinization, whilst at the same time also with rewetting and flooding. Techniques such as grassland irrigation or the management of watermill landscapes can be inspiring.

Biodiversity

The disappearance of species and varieties poses a real threat to the planet. Practices such as hedge laying and weaving and beekeeping can have a positive impact on biodiversity.

Soil

Problems such as soil impoverishment or over-fertilization are all too common. Here too, many heritage practices are a possible part of the solution. We will start working on this theme in the fall of 2024.