17. Synthesis: Toward Dynamic Conservation of Our Natural Heritage in the Anthropocene

This chapter provides a synthesis of the chapters of this volume. Based on the discussion provided in the foregoing chapters, it evokes the concept of “dynamic conservation” of natural heritage. The geological bearings of the landscape level and ecological aspects of the Japanese Islands' natural heritage are briefly revisited; and key discussion points of the case study chapters are summed up. It is shown how the chapters of this volume bring out the defining contours of the natural heritage of Japan, and how aspects of the dynamic earth revealed through these heritage landscapes could provide an important insight for heritage conservation based on the integral connections between abiotic and biotic processes that together make up natural heritage.