The Roundtable on “The present situation of Cultural Landscapes and related heritage systems – from ‘category’ to ‘approach’? was organized by World Heritage Studies, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba Tokyo Campus from March 20th to 24th 2013. The seminar aims to exchange knowledge and experiences in Cultural Landscapes’ conservation and management between international and Japanese experts, and for Japanese experts to learn from recent discussions, activities and approaches outside of their country, followed by a two-day working visit to Shirakawa-go and Gokayama World Heritage Sites.

Dr. Ron van Oers from WHITRAP was invited to explain and clarify the concept of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and its relationship to Cultural Landscapes (CL). The presentation put forward ideas and suggestions related to the application of HUL, some of which highly relevant also to the conservation and management of Cultural Landscapes in the Asia/Pacific region.

Tsukuba University, through its World Heritage Studies programme, is an important partner of WHITRAP for future cooperation in research and education activities in World Heritage. Professor Nobuko INABA agreed to explore possibilities for closer cooperation between Tsukuba University and WHITRAP, including the organization of an international Expert Meeting on Business Management for Cultural Heritage as a result of the working visit to Shirakawa-go and Kagoyama World Heritage sites.