Abstract:
"People come and go but the Land, and stories about the Land, stay. This is a wisdom that takes
lifetimes of listening, observing and experiencing ....There is a deep understanding of human
nature and the environment. Sites hold 'feelings' which cannot be described in physical terms" (1)
Morris, C (1995)
The Cultural Landscape is a tangible manifestation of human actions and beliefs set against and
within the natural landscape. (Jutta Melnic 1984). Early human settlements originated as a part of
natural environment. They used minimum resources from the environment. Natural elements
features and territories were treated with sacred dignity. As civilizations grew for thousands of
years each generation owned different cultural values, beliefs. Those beliefs linked with natural
elements added a spiritual value to the natural landscape making a cultural landscape. Cultural
Landscape often reflects specific techniques of sustainable land use, considering the characteristic
and limits of the natural environment they are establishing. This sustainable land use leads to the
protection of biological diversity and it enhances the natural values embodied in the landscape.
Chapter one will discuss how a Cultural Landscape forms concepts and definitions of different
perspectives and some human nature relationships. Chapter two elaborates the Cultural Landscape
in different contextual backgrounds and Varieties of Landscape experiences and its impact on the
environment in overseas. Chapter three explains the origin of Cultural Landscape with different
concepts and their application in a Sri Lankan context. Chapter four is a case study on the
harmonious interaction of selected Cultural Landscape in a Sri Lankan context. The dissertation
concludes with precautions and suggestions for protection of the Cultural Landscape.
Morris, C (1995) "An Approach to Ensure Continuity and Transmission of the Rainforest Peoples' Oral
Tradition" in Fourmile, H; Schnierer, S; & Smith, A (Eds) An Identification of Problems and Potential for
Future Rainforest Aboriginal Cultural Survival and Self-Determination in the Wet Tropics. Centre for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Participation Research and Development Cairns, Australia
