Rethinking cultural heritage conservation at historic settlements: The case of Lomanthang, Nepal

This dissertation provokes rethinking the practice of cultural heritage conservation through the study of conservation and development activities that took place in recent decades at an historic settlement of Lomanthang in northwestern Nepal. The scope of the study spans the global forces of conservation and local everyday practices at Lomanthang, and includes many different groups of people and institutions working within the spectrum of local and global communities.;The people who continue to inhabit Lomanthang have inherited a rich historical and cultural heritage, but do not wish to be confined by it. Conservation professionals and institutions, on the other hand, promote a more static and universal notion of heritage. They see the unique and picturesque setting of Lomanthang as a heritage to be preserved, with little regard for local aspirations. It is in this context that Lomanthang is a stage for a diverse and sometimes conflicting set of actions and reactions, celebrations and conflicts.;My personal involvement in conservation at Lomanthang sets the tone for my research questions: Why conservation practice has become so complicated and conflicting, and sometimes failing to achieve its good intentions. With reference to various social construction theories and methodological considerations pertaining to ethnography, this dissertation aims to understand both professional and local intentions and actions as they seek to influence the built environment.;A multi-sited ethnographic research approach takes me beyond Lomanthang to other places in Nepal, India, the United States among others to which people of Lomanthang migrate for seasonal work or for good. This analysis affords a fuller appreciation of the dynamics of heritage and complexities of operational relationships between the conservation professionals and the local community.;In rethinking heritage conservation practice, the dissertation strongly argues that promoters of conservation must recognize local autonomy and abandon the pretense of `participation', which inhabitants view as condescending, at best. Professionals need to understand that the "locals" are also sophisticated and strategic global actors (with centuries' long history of doing so). Contemporary conservation practice must be based on mutual consensus and partnership between the professionals and locals for respectful engagement with the historic built environment.