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Protected areas and sacred nature: A convergence of beliefs
Abstract
It is being increasingly recognised that cultural and biological diversity are deeply linked and that conservation programmes should take into account the ethical, cultural and spiritual values of nature. With contributions from a range of scholars, practitioners and spiritual leaders from around the world, this book provides new insights into biocultural diversity conservation. It explores sacred landscapes, sites, plants and animals from around the world to demonstrate the links between nature conservation and spiritual beliefs and traditions. Key conceptual topics are connected to case studies, as well as modern and ancient spiritual insights, guiding the reader through the various issues from fundamental theory and beliefs to practical applications. It looks forward to the biocultural agenda, providing guidelines for future research and practice and offering suggestions for improved integration of these values into policy, planning and management.
... Therefore, understanding the underlying cultural values that connect humans and nature is important for the conservationist in formulating conservation strategies using an integrated biodiversity conservation approach, including the application of Indigenous Knowledge System (IKs) (Gandile et al., 2017). The links between different cultures of the world and biodiversity are reflected in physical convergence (Dudley et al., 2012). The relationships between people and nature are socially and culturally conditioned, creating a variety of reasons for conserving biodiversity across different cultures and societies (Yamin, 1995). ...
... Bibliographic records reveal that, there are many SNSs around the world. They occur for the most part in Africa and Asia, but broader survey is currently incomplete (Dudley et al., 2012). It is clearly evident that these sites are potential key players and arguably one of the primary networks of biodiversity conservation that is essentially valued by different cultures of the world (Urtnasan, 2003;Mgumia and Oba, 2003;Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006;Malhotra et al., 2007;Ormsby and Edelman, 2010;Verschuuren et al., 2010;Ormsby, 2013, Babalola et al., 2014. ...
Sacred Natural Sites (SNSs) are specific natural areas of the earth, which are believed to have spiritual, religious, cultural or historical significance to people or communities. These sites in recent times are recognized by conservationists as one of the primary networks of biodiversity conservation, because they connect people with nature. Many SNSs exist in Nigeria, but are understudied. Germache is a SNS that is located in Zuru Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Nigeria. This study determined the potential roles of Germache SNS and the cultural values of the community members on biodiversity conservation. An ethnographical research method consisting of a semi-structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion was used to assess and document the Indigenous Knowledge on Cultural Values of biodiversity conservation in the community. Responses from key informants who were between ages 25 and 75 years and have spent at least 20 years in the community identified crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) as a totem. Adansonia digitata and Vitellaria paradoxa were regarded as sacred monumental plants. About 87% of the respondents indicated an observed increased in crocodile population and vegetation cover over the years. Therefore, the site has a potential for biodiversity conservation due to restricted human access and taboos associated with any resource extraction. More so, the site is valued as a holy ground for conducting prayers and cultural festivities such as Uhola and Golmo.
... Therefore, understanding the underlying cultural values that connect humans and nature is important for the conservationist in formulating conservation strategies using an integrated biodiversity conservation approach, including the application of Indigenous Knowledge System (IKs) (Gandile et al., 2017). The links between different cultures of the world and biodiversity are reflected in physical convergence (Dudley et al., 2012). The relationships between people and nature are socially and culturally conditioned, creating a variety of reasons for conserving biodiversity across different cultures and societies (Yamin, 1995). ...
... Bibliographic records reveal that, there are many SNSs around the world. They occur for the most part in Africa and Asia, but broader survey is currently incomplete (Dudley et al., 2012). It is clearly evident that these sites are potential key players and arguably one of the primary networks of biodiversity conservation that is essentially valued by different cultures of the world (Urtnasan, 2003;Mgumia and Oba, 2003;Bhagwat and Rutte, 2006;Malhotra et al., 2007;Ormsby and Edelman, 2010;Verschuuren et al., 2010;Ormsby, 2013, Babalola et al., 2014. ...
Sacred Natural Sites (SNSs) are specific natural areas of the earth, which are believed to have spiritual, religious, cultural or historical significance to people or communities. These sites in recent times are recognized by conservationists as one of the primary networks of biodiversity conservation, because they connect people with nature. Many SNSs exist in Nigeria, but are understudied. Germache is a SNS that is located in Zuru Local Government Area of Kebbi State, Nigeria. This study determined the potential roles of Germache SNS and the cultural values of the community members on biodiversity conservation. An ethnographical research method consisting of a semi-structured questionnaire and Focus Group Discussion was used to assess and document the Indigenous Knowledge on Cultural Values of biodiversity conservation in the community. Responses from key informants who were between ages 25 and 75 years and have spent at least 20 years in the community identified crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) as a totem. Adansonia digitata and Vitellaria paradoxa were regarded as sacred monumental plants. About 87% of the respondents indicated an observed increased in crocodile population and vegetation cover over the years. Therefore, the site has a potential for biodiversity conservation due to restricted human access and taboos associated with any resource extraction. More so, the site is valued as a holy ground for conducting prayers and cultural festivities such as Uhola and Golmo.
... Sacred Natural Sites (SNS) have been defined as areas with special significance to people and communities (Oviedo and Jeanrenaud 2007). Sacred sites can be the home of gods, places related with spiritually significant historical events or people, or places of worship, expressing a unique sense or spirit of place (Antrop 2005;Dudley and Higgins-Zogib 2012). They are often associated with temples, shrines, mosques, churches, pilgrimage trails, or epiphanies of the divine in natural features ( Verschuuren et al. 2010). ...
... SNS exist all over the world. In spite of the common Christian view of sacred nature as idolatry (Dudley and Higgins-Zogib 2012;Frascaroli 2013), in Greece there are well-known examples of Christian Orthodox SNS such as the rock pillars of Meteora (Lyratzaki 2007) and the monastic community of Mt Athos (Papayannis 2007). However, spirituality is also expressed on a smaller scale by outlying churches and their emblematic trees or groves that magically encircle or mark village boundaries with the power of the cross ( Stara et al. 2012). ...
Sacred natural sites (SNS), and especially forests, constitute almost certainly the world’s oldest conservation systems. The reasons for their maintenance are related very often with concrete ways of managing local resources and ecosystems, through religious rules. In Zagori and Konitsa, NW Greece sacred forests exist in most villages. Their vegetation and forest structure variety along with cultural elements, such as identities of the communities who had established them, the purpose of their establishing, the different rituals implemented for their transformation from profane to sacred, associated taboos, and their particular history create their unique character. Accepted uses in sacred forests are depended to the purpose of their establishment. More often hunting, grazing, collection of plants, mushrooms, and dead branches are allowed, while taboos are mainly connected with the trees themselves. Sacred forests display nowadays a newly emerged value for biodiversity conservation and they can serve as a locally adapted exemplar of successful historical conservation systems.
... While sacred forests are not officially considered conservation mechanisms in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Area network, sacred forests are a form of community forest management, which currently play, and have traditionally played, an integral role in the conservation of biodiversity and should be considered in conservation initiatives (Bhagwat and Rutte 2006;Dudley and Higgins-Zogib 2012;Montagnini et al. 2022). Their role in conservation of biocultural (biological and cultural) diversity was acknowledged in the 2005 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) international symposium in Tokyo which resulted in the joint IUCN-UNESCO guidelines for management of SNS (Wild and McLeod 2008). ...
Sacred forests, protected due to their religious importance, form a vast network of informal and often inadvertent (shadow) conservation sites worldwide. Despite socioeconomic and political pressures increasing deforestation worldwide, these shadow conservation sites are remarkable in their ability to resist these pressures through their cultural, religious, and social significance. In this chapter we discuss our research on the sacred forests of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC), the dominant religion in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has 11% forest cover distributed in a patchwork of forest fragments which are, in many regions, the only repository of biodiversity, including many endemic and endangered species. In the South Gondar Region (14,607 km2) of northern Ethiopia, around 1022 of these forest fragments are sacred forests that surround churches of the EOTC. Despite their small size, on average 5.2 hectares (range 1.7–148.9 ha), they constitute 100% of the forests in the region. High levels of biodiversity, including endangered and endemic taxa, endow these forests with great value. They provide essential ecosystem services to the surrounding community and are integral to the rituals and culture of the EOTC. Far from being static cultural and religious relics scattered throughout the Ethiopian landscape, these sacred church forests are complex and dynamic socio-ecological systems. We discuss EOTC forests as islands of biocultural diversity, their central role in local communities, the ecosystem services they provide, and the threats they face. We base our observations on a 10-year (2010–2020) interdisciplinary research project where we explore the mechanisms of the religious management of EOTC church forests.
... Partnerships between religious and conservation groups represent "significant untapped potential" (McLeod and Palmer 2015), which can promote and sustain conservation efforts. As some scholars have argued, despite the historical divide, there is a growing "convergence of beliefs" (Dudley and Higgins-Zogib 2012) between faith groups and conservation practitioners. However, in order to better articulate the interests of both communities, the latter has to understand and address the needs and aspirations of faith groups, whereas the former should recognize conservation priorities and rethink theologically their duties to the natural world. ...
A relevant number of shrines, hermitages, monasteries, and pilgrimage routes in Spain are located within or near Natura 2000, a European network of protected core breeding and resting sites for rare and threatened species, and some rare natural habitat types. Given the growing interest in alternative conservation strategies and the geographical correlation between nature preserves and Sacred Natural Sites (SNS), this paper explores how religious devotions have made preservation possible in Spain. By an extensive literature review and interviews with long-established custodians of nonurban Marian sanctuaries, it looks at the development of plant-related allegorical titles, the multiple meanings of “Marian verdant advocations”, and the role popular religion has played in connecting theological insights with particular elements of natural ecosystems helping value and preserve the Spanish biocultural heritage. We found that 420 Marian titles directly refer to plant species or vegetation types and many of the nonurban Marian sacred sites are placed in well-preserved natural areas, some of them playing a human-related added value for most emblematic National Parks, like the sanctuaries of El Rocío (Doñana NP) and Covadonga (Picos de Europa NP). We conclude that there is a strong relationship between popular religion, Marian verdant titles, and nature conservation.
In this study, the landscape characteristics and culture of the sacred Dangsan forests at Dongnae-ri, Seonae-ri, Namnae-ri, Pyeongchon-ri and Gyochon-ri were investigated. And the potential for registration in the World Heritage List has been discussed by linking the Dangsan forests at the five sites. Dangsan forest, a traditional village forests of rural Korea is a representative cultural heritage with a history of more than several hundred years of Dangsan ritual. The Dangsan forests in the neighborhood of Naganeuoseong have retained the landscape of town fortress during Choseon Dynasty and the Dangsan ritual as a living culture. The three villages inside Naganeuoseong have kept their Upper Dang, Middle Dang and Lower Dang. There were 21 old trees in total; Zelkova serrata (2), Celtis sinensis (7), Aphananthe aspera (5) trees, Carpinus tschonoskii (2) and Ginkgo biloba (3). The three Dangsan trees and an old Aphananthe aspera, known as to be planted by the Admiral Yi Sun-sin were recognized. The two villages located outside of village fortress also have kept their Dangsan ritual. It is important whether the sites possesses authenticity in order to be listed in the World Heritage. The Dangsan forests in the neighborhood of Naganeuoseong have been verified for the authenticity, which should be focused. The places need to be clarified for their landscape features formed as a Dangsan forest, and sustainable protection and management plans are to be devised.
Although sacred groves arc, important for conservation in India, The landscape that surrounds them has a vital influence on biodiversity within them. Research has focused on tree diversity inside these forest patches. In a coffee-growing region of the Western Ghats, however landscape outside sacred groves is also tree covered because Planters have retained native trees to provide shade for coffee plants. We examined the diversity of trees, birds, and macrofungi at 58 sites-10 forest-reserve sites, 25 sacred groves, and 23 coffee plantations-in Kodagu district. We measured landscape composition and configuration around each site with a geographic information system. To identify factors associated with diversity we constructed multivariate models by using a decision-tree technique. The conventional measures of landscape such as patch size did not influence species richness. Distance of sacred groves front The forest reserve bad a weak influence. The measures of landscape structure (e.g., tree cover in the surroundings) and stand structure (e.g., variability in canopy height) contributed to The variation in species richness explained by multivariate models. We suggest that biodiversity present within sacred groves bets been influenced by native tree cover in the surrounding landscape. To conserve this biodiversity The integrity of the tree-covered landscape matrix will need to be conserved.
In a number of places, sacred forest sites play an important role in conservation and local livelihoods. Here we examine how Iban hunters and animals alike use sacred forest in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. To determine the relative importance of different sites in hunting, we compare hunting effort, animal species and their numbers encountered by hunters, and encounters and captures in a variety of forest sites including sacred groves. We relate the results to the role of such sites in the overall Iban agroforestry system and in the conservation of forest habitat that professional conservationists deem precious. Such land use practices, while having social and religious origins, may be important for local economic purposes, but they may also be valuable in promoting and enhancing the more global goals of biodiversity conservation.
Recently the role of customary local institutions in the conservation of biological diversity has become a topic of widespread interest. In this paper the conservation value of one such institution, traditionally protected forest, is studied with regard to its ecological representativity and institutional persistence. On the basis of a case study from Mozambique the paper concludes that traditionally protected forests do have a practical conservation value, especially as fire refuges and in the preservation of metapopulations of endangered species. However, it is also important to recall their spiritual aspect, which is crucial for their continuing appreciation and upholding. Even though customary institutions are still strong in the study area, they are subject to power struggles at both local and national levels. In the present context of political transition, any outside interventions regarding such local institutions as sacred forests, which have high symbolic value, should be considered carefully.