Construction of meaning and interpretation of cultural landscape: the case of Kulen National Park, Cambodia

While heritage interpretation has largely been driven by tangible attributes, the interpretation of cultural landscapes from the perspective of lived experience has largely been ignored. Having challenged authorised heritage discourse (AHD), the cornerstone of conventional expert-driven interpretation, the researchers employ public heritage discourse, along with living heritage and conservation, as theoretical lenses for cultural landscape interpretation. Findings from qualitative interviews with stakeholders at Cambodia’s Kulen National Park reveal that cultural landscape meaning consists of three interconnected dimensions: (1) symbolic values rooted in local communities’ everyday lives, (2) concerns about site authenticity raised by heritage experts, and (3) social (trans)formations associated with tourism stakeholders. Grounded in ethnographic fieldwork data, the researchers propose an integrated framework for interpreting cultural landscapes that incorporates AHD, public heritage discourse, heritage conservation, and living heritage. Additionally, the meanings of cultural landscapes embedded in heritage interpretation have been derived through both social and heritage processes that engage multiple stakeholders. The research contributes to practitioners by considering the site’s symbolic values derived from multiple stakeholders, rather than relying solely on tangible heritage criteria initiated by experts.