A LITERATURE REVIEW ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH TO SAFEGUARDING INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE (ICH): WITH A FOCUS ON COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD'S REGIONS

Abstract

The essence of a society's cultural heritage can be identified by its tangible qualities and the essential elements that represent the culture of life of human communities, their evolution, and their continuous development. These intangible elements are a collection of ideas, attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, knowledge, and expressions passed down from generation to generation. This is called intangible cultural heritage, and the process of identifying, documenting, preserving, promoting, and transmitting that heritage is called safeguarding. A country must safeguard intangible cultural heritage (ICH), which is disappearing due to various social changes. Therefore, there is a timely need to examine the measures taken to protect the ICH internationally. Accordingly, six (06) world's regions, namely Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and the Middle East, observed the literature on the measures taken to safeguard the ICH, and used the two databases ResearchGate and EBSCO host to explore the literature. The literature search was conducted for fourteen (14) countries representing the regions mentioned above, limiting the search to 2015-2024, out of which sixteen (16) papers were selected. Regionally, many countries have implemented a unique policy for safeguarding ICH, recognizing their country and multiculturalism. Here, in safeguarding ICH in a country, whether that country has signed the 2003 ICH UNESCO Convention or not, the country's public sector should create a unified policy to safeguard ICH by involving the public. The literature reveals that safeguarding ICH is not uniform across regions; while some countries adopt strong legal and policy frameworks, others rely heavily on community participation and informal practices, showing that diverse approaches are necessary and context-dependent. A geographical perspective demonstrates that safeguarding ICH is deeply influenced by socio-political conditions, cultural diversity, and economic resources of each region, underscoring the importance of tailoring strategies rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model. Future research should comparatively evaluate how regional and cross-border collaborations can strengthen the safeguarding of ICH, as many cultural expressions transcend national boundaries. Policymakers and cultural institutions are encouraged to integrate digital technologies and community-driven approaches in safeguarding ICH, ensuring its accessibility, intergenerational transmission, and sustainable protection.