Participatory governance of intangible heritage to develop sustainable rural tourism: the timber-raftsmen of La Pobla de Segur, Spain

ABSTRACT

Rural areas face the challenge of managing intangible heritage in ways that avoid problems such as the loss of authenticity linked to over-tourism, or living heritage becoming disconnected from the local community due to overprotection. This study explores an innovative method for promoting a participatory governance process for intangible heritage currently managed on a non-participatory basis, in that the local community establishes a consensual model of sustainable tourism development that promotes both the rural renaissance of the area and the preservation of its Intangible Cultural Heritage. This research explores the case of the ‘raiers’ (timber-raftmen) of La Pobla de Segur, an ancient trade of transporting timber by river, recently awarded Intangible World Heritage status by UNESCO. Methods include participant observation, interviews, and discussion groups. The local community felt empowered to find a consensus on how to manage this Intangible Cultural Heritage by focusing on sustainable tourism development that preserves heritage while contributing to the rural renaissance of the area. The local community eagerly engaged by putting forward proposals, indicating the importance of agreements and new initiatives.

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KEYWORDS:

• Participatory governance
• intangible heritage
• sustainable tourism
• heritage management
• rural renaissance
• heritage-led innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Isabel Paulino has been funded by the postdoctoral Margarita Salas fellowship program of postdoctoral Margarita Salas fellowship programme of the Spanish Ministry for Universities, through the European Union NextGenerationEU Funds [C21.I4.P1/AEI/10.13039/501100011033]. This publication was supported by the R+D+I ADAPTOUR project [contract number PID2020-112525RB-I00)] funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; and in collaboration with Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de empresa i treball.

Notes on contributors

Isabel Paulino

Isabel Paulino holds a post-doctoral researcher from University of Girona, doing a research stay in the University of Rovira i Virgili. Her research interests are aligned with the improvement of the planning, management, governance and resilience of tourist destinations so that they are more adaptable and efficient.

Carlos Burgos-Tartera

Carlos Burgos-Tartera holds a Master in Cultural Tourism from the University of Girona. His research interests are aligned with the tourism governance of the cultural heritage.

Silvia Aulet

Silvia Aulet is a researcher and lecturer from the University of Girona. Her research interests are focused in the field of cultural tourism, mainly in the field of tangible and intangible heritage related to religious tourism, spiritual tourism, and food tourism as drivers for sustainable development, intercultural dialogue, and peacebuilding.