02211nas a2200229   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653003300043653002100076653002000097653001700117653002600134100002000160700001800180700002000198245011000218856015400328300001200482490000700494520146000501022002001961                                       d10aIntangible cultural heritage10aCultural tourism10aLocal knowledge10aSafeguarding10atraditional knowledge1 aMaria Katelieva1 aAndreas Muhar1 aMarianne Penker00aNature-related knowledge as intangible cultural heritage: safeguarding and tourism utilisation in Austria  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85075238206&doi=10.1080%2f14766825.2019.1693581&partnerID=40&md5=918875b5447e0f1f06e0cd1179bea65c  a673-6890 v183 aThis study presents challenges and potentials of local and traditional nature-related knowledge as a tourism resource and reveals how it fits into the process of constructing and safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Furthermore it proposes an analytical framework for in-depth research on concrete cases. The study contributes to the emerging discussion on the tension between safeguarding and commodifying ICH by an interdisciplinary literature review and interviews with key stakeholders in Austria. The study analyses experts’ opinions and presents some domains of ‘local’ or ‘traditional’ nature-related knowledge from Austria, considered as ICH and valorised through tourism and leisure offers. The commercial use of this knowledge and the simultaneous effort to safeguard it as ICH bring numerous actors from tourism and heritage organisations and their interests into conflict. UNESCO’s influence in heritage-making and valorisation and the prioritising of certain domains and thus increasing their chance for tourism utilisation are also discussed. Furthermore, findings from the expert interviews reveal that the concepts ‘traditional’ or ‘local’ are problematic in the European context because the boundaries between localities, as well as between experience-based and scientific knowledge are unclear. Issues like ‘uniqueness’ and ‘ownership’ of the knowledge or ICH are also discussed in the interviews.  a14766825 (ISSN)