Towards an Ecology of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Perspectives from the Environmental Humanities and Critical Animal Studies through the case study of the Lipizzan horse breeding traditions

Abstract

The Intangible Cultural Heritage encompasses shared practices, knowledge, and skills within a community, integral to its identity. The UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) provides a conceptual and normative framework for preserving these elements. Despite the urge to preserve those practices, encouraged by the institutions, their normative frameworks, and by the communities of bearers, contemporary ethical claims linked to issues of sustainability and animal welfare are fostering a new debate on their rightfulness and value. The present study revolves around the contradictions and clashes arising between the preservation of these folkloristic practices as part of local cultural heritage, their historical significance, and the need to stand for the ethics of sustainability and animal welfare. Using the Lipizzan horse breeding traditions in Italy as a case study, the research employs the theoretical references of the Critical Animal Studies and of the Environmental Humanities to scrutinize dynamics such as domestication and care. By aligning with the emergent field of Critical Heritage Studies, the research aims at contributing to the development of an ecology of cultural heritage, that translates into suggestions and reflections on how to make heritage more respectful for all the actors and resources involved.