Living heritage runs the risk of being lost forever, or frozen as a practice of the past, if not promoted in the community. The preservation of this history, its transmission to following generations, and its ability to transform and adapt to any circumstance, are all made possible by strengthening living heritage. Investigating the function of living heritage in advancing education for sustainable development has been deemed a crucial goal by quality education as Sustainable Development Goal number 4 (SDG 4). The aim of this article is to gather information on living heritage conservation toward creating a sustainability community by using the community-based education model on the communities’ attitudes, cultural knowledge, and awareness of the importance of living heritage, and their participation level towards living heritage conservation in Melaka UNESCO World Heritage Site. This study uses the quantitative method of online questionnaire survey technique to collect data. There are 392 respondents from the multicultural community of Melaka World Heritage Site, who randomly responded. Based on the mean comparison in gender, age level, and race, there is a positive significant relationship between the importance of living heritage and the local community’s participation level. The increasing of the participation level to ACTIVE would lead to a higher altitude, cultural knowledge, and awareness of the importance of living heritage in the local community.

Research on the Malay cultural landscape in the Malay Archipelago is based on several factors, which include function, tradition, and the Malay culture. These factors are widely found in Malay literature, which plays a significant role in designing the landscape of Malay culture. Malay literature includes Old Malay manuscripts, Hikayat Melayu (Malay folktales), and Malay poetry, all of which are based on the beliefs, mindsets, and culture of the Malay community. These are demonstrated in a tangible or intangible manner through the environment of the traditional Malay lifestyle, inherent in Malay life values and in the symbolism of places. This review employed a document analysis to identify the elements and components of the Malay cultural landscape and its metaphorical aspects, as reflected in the aforementioned four types of Malay literature. Moreover, this review obtained information on the elements of the Malay cultural landscape that determine and explain the nature, function, and similarity of these aspects through symbolism in the landscape and culture of the Malays in Malaysia. Indirectly, this review proved the long existence of a systematic Malay cultural landscape throughout the Malay Archipelago that remains essential for future cultural sustainability. Finally, elements of the Malay landscape were identified, which could be applied as guidelines for designers in outlining a Malay cultural landscape.

This study aims to underscore the pivotal role of cultural attributes in shaping destination image and examines their implications for sustainable tourism. Through a comprehensive review of relevant literature, the study proposes a conceptual framework to delve into the multifaceted effects of cultural attributes on destination image formation and offers strategies and guidelines for fostering sustainable tourism practices. The findings of the study underscore the significance of cultural attributes in bolstering the competitiveness of destination images in sustainable tourism, while also analyzing their interconnectedness across social, economic, and environmental dimensions. The societal impact of this study lies in highlighting the pivotal role of cultural attributes in shaping perceptions and allure associated with destination images, thereby furnishing a vital reference point for crafting and executing a targeted research agenda in urban tourism. Ultimately, this study furnishes a valuable theoretical framework and perspective conducive to the advancement of sustainable tourism endeavors.

Hot spring landscapes offer enticing development prospects for investors in China. However, due to mounting economic pressures and a lack of coordination among various authorities, inclusive governance has proven ineffective in overseeing development projects centered around hot spring landscapes. Consequently, this manuscript delves into the potential for implementing inclusive governance strategies to safeguard hot spring landscapes in China. This study selected Linyi City as its study site due to its location above a fault zone, which has resulted in the presence of numerous hot springs. Additionally, it has been officially classified as a ‘hot spring city in China’ by the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources. This study employed a semi-structured expert interview to investigate the barriers that stand in the way of applying inclusive governance to hot spring landscapes. Moreover, the interview investigates the implications of the lack of utilization of inclusive governance strategies for hot spring landscapes. The analysis of the results indicates that experts believed that the current protection policies were ineffective due to the existence of a multitude of barriers, such as the existence of deficiencies in the current policies, the multiplicity of management authorities, differences in visions in decision-making, limited public participation, a lack of awareness and trust from the public, a lack of balance in development approaches, and a limited role of science and technology. This resulted in a lack of proper communication and delegation of responsibilities with regard to inclusive governance strategies for protecting hot spring landscapes. Furthermore, the analysis unveiled diverse implications arising from the non-application of inclusive governance strategies, encompassing aspects such as tourism, economics, environment, sociocultural, and sustainability.

Pertanika Journal information and guidelines

Threatened by cultural modernization, many emotions and manifestations of living heritage or intangible cultural heritage (ICH) are under crisis. The non-formal education initiative of living heritage conservation focused on preserving and passing the skills and knowledge, practices, expression, and instruments of local people on to future generations effectively. By using the literature review as an analysis method, this paper identified the best non-formal education initiative and the significance of living heritage conservation education for the community. In conclusion, quality education of living heritage conservation, not only fulfills people's needs but also helps unite and empower both local people and the community to sustain the living heritage efficiently. Keywords: Intangible cultural heritage; Non-formal education; Public awareness; Quality education eISSN 2398-4279 ©2020 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v5i18.205