A Study on the Importance and Sustainability of Cultural Landscape Values: The Case of Kemaliye (Erzincan), Türkiye
Abstract
This study evaluates the cultural landscape values of Kemaliye in Erzincan province and the local people's conservation approaches from an ecotourism perspective. Data from a 150-participant survey were analyzed using the Chi-square test. Findings indicate that the vast majority supports protecting and restoring cultural heritage. While 84.4% of participants defined ecotourism as environmental protection contributing to local well-being, 76.6% stated it promotes local culture. The analyses revealed that cultural heritage conservation approaches showed no significant differences based on gender, age, education, or occupation (p>0.05); however, a significant relationship existed between residence place and conservation approaches (p<0.05). Additionally, male and middle-aged participants exhibited higher ecotourism participation levels. In conclusion, local perception and participation are decisive in cultural landscape management. This emphasizes the necessity of integrating the social dimension into planning processes for sustainable conservation policies in rural cultural heritage areas.
Keywords
Cultural landscape, sustainability, local participation, ecotourism
Ethical Statement
The article complies with national and international research and publication ethics. Ethics Committee document numbered E-60665420-000-2500137252, dated 25 April 2025, was added to the study.
Thanks
This article was prepared by Gül Nisa Nur TEKBIYIK under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Elif AKPINAR KÜLEKÇİ and produced from her Master's Thesis conducted at the Department of Landscape Architecture, Institute of Science, Atatürk University.
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