Associative cultural landscape approach to interpreting traditional ecological wisdom:A case of Inuit habitat

Global climate change and the accelerated melting of glaciers have raised concerns about the ability to manage ice-snow environments.Historically,human ancestors have mastered the ecological wisdom of working with ice-snow environments,but the phenomenon has not yet been articulated in cultural landscape methodologies that emphasize“nature-culture relevance”.The challenging living environment often compels indigenous people to form a strong bond with their surroundings,leading to the creation of long-term ecological wisdom through synergistic relationships with the environment.This ecological environment is conceptualized as a cognitive space in the form of the landscape,with which the aboriginal community norms and individual spirits continually interact.Such interactions generate numerous non-material cultural evidences,such as culture,art,religion,and other ideological aspects of the nation.These evidences symbolize the intellectual outcome of the relationship between humans and the landscape,and they create the“spiritual relevance”through personification and contextualization.The aim of the study is to explore the traditional ecological wisdom of the Inuit people who live in the harsh Arctic,and analyze the Inuit’s interaction with the landscape through the lens of“associative cultural landscape”,and decode the survival experience that the Inuit have accumulated through their long-term synergy with the Arctic environment.The findings focus on the synergy between the Inuit and the ice-snow landscape,examining the knowledge and ecological wisdom that the Inuit acquire from the ice-snow landscape.Our goal is to develop a perspective of the ecological environment from the viewpoint of aboriginal people and establish a methodology,model,and framework for“associative cultural landscape”that incorporates ethnic non-material cultural evidences.From the results,a total of nine models for interpreting traditional Inuit ecological wisdom are generated based on the“diamond model”of“associative cultural landscape”,covering the transition from the physical landscape to a spiritual one and demonstrating the associative role of the landscape in stimulating potential spiritual cognitive abilities in humans.

Digital Analysis of the Water Layout Ecological Wisdom in Traditional Chinese Rural Settlements:A Case Study of Liukeng Village in Jiangxi Province

During the long-term construction and development process of eliminating water disasters and promoting water conservancy in traditional settlements,a set of mature strategies that have simple ecological wisdom in water layout have been formed by adapting to the natural water environment and utilizing the regional water system.This study conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the water layout strategies and their effects on Liukeng Village from three aspects:deciphering the water systematic pattern,calculating the spatial characteristics and quantifying the water environment,to explore the technical assistance and potential of water layout research in traditional rural settlements.The results indicated that Liukeng has an unambiguously systematic water layout pattern of source diversion,middle drainage and end purification of the water.Through 3D point cloud computing,it was shown that the site selection made accurate use of micro-topography and adopted the strategy of a multi-source water management.It formed an organic water system pattern,which provided sufficient water sources for all kinds of needs of Liukeng Village.The Dragon Lake in Liukeng held 83.0%of the precipitation,and the vegetation area accounted for 34.7%of the total area of Liukeng,which had high surface permeability and good middle drainage effects.Water detection showed that the Dragon Lake provided good water quality and purification.The purposes of this study are to fill the gap in previous non-quantitative research on water layout in traditional rural settlements,excavate the hidden information and value of settlements,and deepen our understanding of the ecological wisdom of the overall planning,layout and construction of water conservancy in traditional rural settlements.This knowledge can assist the win-win situation of water conservancy cultural heritage protection and modern utilization.It also provides useful inspiration and reference for properly dealing with the problems of rain and flooding,realizing the sustainability of water resources,and protecting the ecological environment in the process of the development and construction of village settlements in China.

"Fourth World," "Third Nature," and the Poetic Imagination of Eastern Ecological Wisdom: An Analysis of The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi zijian

tIn her novel The Last Quarter of the Moon,Chi Zijian,while narrating the history of the extinction of the Evenki people,constructs a"spiritual time"that contends with linear time and the"Third Nature"filled with the universal love of humanity,creating a"Fourth World"where humanity and nature come together in a spirituality that goes beyond life and death.This represents a profound ecological consideration and offers enlightenment for the psychological crisis of contemporary times.With poetic language,Chi expresses her estimation of the course of human civilization and the contemporary crisis of spiritual ecology,thereby constructing the ecological wisdom of the Oriental peoples with poetic aesthetics and imagination.

Novel ecosystems in the restoration of cultural landscapes of Tl’chés,West Chatham Island,British Columbia,Canada

Introduction:The small archipelago of Tl’chés,in coastal British Columbia,has gone through drastic social-ecological change culminating in the decline of traditional management practices,invasion of exotic plant species and,in the early 1960s,land abandonment.This is a common trend in cultural landscapes around the world.Cultural landscapes have great social-ecological significance,including cultural safeguarding and renewal,as well as maintenance of biodiversity,ecosystem functions and services,making them objects of special attention in conservation and restoration efforts.This study investigates the relationship between the Lekwungen people and heavily altered ecosystems in the context of ecological restoration for the cultural landscapes of Tl’chés.Methods:In order to thoroughly explore the ecological,social and cultural aspects and processes involved in the restoration of Tl’chés,this study combined different environmental sciences methodologies,including historical and archival research,semi-structured interviews and participatory observation with Lekwungen participants,as well as ecological field assessments and an innovative mapping approach termed Terrestrial Cultural Ecosystem Mapping(TCEM).Results:This study generated historical and spatial references for ecosystem and land use change in West Chatham Island,as well as cultural and ecological understandings to support restoration.Although important native species such as Camassia spp.are still thriving,present-day ecosystems on this island are heavily altered from the natural Garry oak ecosystem reference sites and are largely dominated by exotic invasive shrubs and graminoid species.This investigation indicates that the Lekwungen value both the historical ecological conditions of the island and particular types of the present-day novel or hybrid ecological states,such as the overgrown heritage orchard and nonnative berries found on the islands.Conclusions:Present-day ecosystems of Tl’chés are a result of a hybrid management system(traditional and conventional),coupled with land abandonment for many decades.Restoration of Tl’chés must involve both ecological and cultural components.Therefore,intervention strategies should consider the incorporation of novel and hybrid ecosystems(i.e.naturalized exotic species)into a restoration plan for ecological,cultural,historical,and subsistence values.