Intangible cultural heritage threatened-level categories and criteria

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a valuable cultural resource produced by human beings in the process of environmental adaptation. Its inheritance and protection play a vital role in sustainable social development and human well-being. To address pressing challenges in ICH protection, including improving the effectiveness of conservation funds and achieving integrity living protection, we established universal categories and criteria from a cultural ecology perspective. The intangible cultural heritage threatened-level categories and criteria are intended to be an explicit, easily, and widely understood system for protecting ICH projects according to their threatened risk. Our evaluation criteria assess the threatened level of ICH from the standpoints of both habitats and practitioners. The threatened level of ICH is determined by the higher of the evaluated threatened levels between ICH practitioners and habitats. This level can be further determined by integrating with the existing ICH list systems of various countries, such as the administrative level in China’s Four-tier List System. By applying this system to assess 100 ICH projects spanning 11 categories in Dali Prefecture, China, we demonstrated its simplicity, operability, and applicability across most ICH categories, and consistency with experts’ judgment even in case of incomplete ICH project data. This criteria system marks a pioneering step towards a comprehensive approach applicable to all ICH categories. It seamlessly integrates with China’s ICH Four-tier List System and is well-suited for routine monitoring in cultural ecology reserves precedently established by China, as well as compatible with ICH list systems globally. Through practical implementation, we envision the gradual refinement of this criteria system to enhance ICH protection efforts and bolster global initiatives in safeguarding these invaluable ICH resources.