Landscape, heritage and technological innovation: towards a framework of sustainability of cultural landscape in a desert town in India

Abstract

Landscape heritage and Landscape justice are recent concepts in landscape studies. Landscape heritage speaks about listening to multiple voices in decision-making on landscape and heritage, especially listening to non-experts, and indigenous voices. Landscape justice is about ensuring equal access to natural resources/natural landscape. The study is based on Jaisalmer, a desert town with the only living fort in Asia, located in Thar Desert at the India–Pakistan border. The study proposes a conceptual framework on the sustainability of cultural landscape that is used to reflect peoples’ livelihood around (lack of access to) water. The framework identifies three main dimensions: the shifting natural landscape, unrecognised critical (tangible and intangible) heritage and challenges with water post-Indira Gandhi Canal project, a central government intervention for desert greening.

Keywords:

• Cultural landscape
• critical heritage
• urban water
• desert
• tourism

Acknowledgements

The research started with Devika Hemalatha Devi’s final year dissertation for the completion of her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning degree at Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India, under Chandrima Mukhopadhyay’s supervision. We are thankful to Darshini Mahadevia for indicating that water could be an interesting sector. We would also like to thank Giusy Papparaldo for reading one of the drafts carefully.

Notes

1. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/india/images/a/a3/India_Thar_locator_map.svg.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080616231140 accessed on 30 January 2016.

2. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Map_rajasthan_dist_Jaisalmer.PNG accessed on 30 January 2016.